A Friendly Hand
by Didi
Summary: The hospital rumor mill get hold of a hush-hush situation. Completed
1. Chapter 1

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's fact it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: The hospital rumor mill get hold of a hush-hush situation.   
  
Note: I don't know why I'm writing this. I usually only write stories on series that have already made their conclusion so that I don't have to deal with cannons. But this kind of hit me on the head.   
  
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Chapter 1  
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"I don't believe it."  
  
"Well, I'm just telling you what I heard."  
  
"No way. She wouldn't, not with his reputation."  
  
"I don't know, I heard she was really desperate."  
  
"Now I know it's not true. Cause she definitely needn't be desperate."   
  
"Well, I heard that prospects were ... shall we say less than... ideal."  
  
"Nope, I refuse to believe."  
  
"Hey, I'm just the messenger."   
  
"Sh... She's coming."  
  
The nurse scrambled away in opposite direction as the resident pediatrician on call stepped up to the nurse's station to return a chart to the filing area.   
  
Jules Keating never thought of herself as a paranoid. If anything she's always been pretty open minded and ready to give someone the benefit of the doubt. But lately, more specifically the past three days, she's beginning to feel that everyone in the hospital knew something about her that she didn't know herself.   
  
"Gloria, could you get me Kenny Davidson's charts? He has an appointment in fifteen minutes and if I know the mom, she's going to want me to recite everything check up and procedure that Kenny's had since birth."   
  
"Sure, Dr. Keating."  
  
Making a final note in her last patient's chart, Dr. Keating dropped the metal incased file into the resort pile and got ready to go back to the exam room.   
  
"Jules!" Even in a single word, the heavy British accent could be clearly distinguished.   
  
Turning, Jules smiled as Dr. Matt Slingerland came running up to the station, slightly out of breath from the three flights of stairs he's had to climb thanks to the maintenance of the elevators. "What's up, Matt?"  
  
"Got a moment to spare?" he asked, glancing questioningly at the three nurses that suddenly halted whatever it was they were doing to stare. "Is something the matter?" The three nurses made a production of getting back to work.   
  
Frowning at the odd behavior, Keating dismissed it to the back of her mind as Slingerland turned on his thousand-watt smile and aimed it directly at her. Warning bells went off loudly in her head. He wanted something. "I've got fifteen to spare. Why?"  
  
Not faltering one bit, he reached over and guided her with a hand at her waist toward the stairs. "The elevators are out again."  
  
She looked at him questioning, digging in her heels and slowing their progress down. "And?"  
  
He glanced over his shoulder at the three nurses that were now, once more, staring at them. "Have you noticed anything... unusual as of late?"  
  
She glanced back just in time to see the nurses spring back into action once more at being caught staring. "As a matter of fact..."  
  
"But that's not what I came to see you about," he interrupted as he pushed the stairwell door open. Smiling widely again, he pointed toward the down flight. "I have a patient in exam room two..."  
  
"Minor?"  
  
"No, it's the mother."  
  
She raised her brows at him as she grabbed and railing and walked own the concrete stairs. "And I would be involved how?"  
  
He glanced up and down the stairwell, checking to see that they were alone. "Look, she's a single mother and an underpaid waitress with a five year old. She's got HMO and they don't cover little things like clearing out a child's ear when it's blocked to the point that the child is no longer hearing properly."  
  
Now the jest of what is needed is clear. "And you want me to volunteer fifteen minutes of my time to help the poor underpaid mother by doing the procedure for the kid."  
  
"Please?" he turned those big brown eyes at her, giving her his best puppy dog look. "I would consider it a personal favor."  
  
She grinned and wrinkled her freckled nose. "Okay, but only because I'm a sucker for kids."  
  
"Thank you, you are a kind and generous soul," he replied with a wide smile as he pushed the door open to enter the second floor. "And let's not let this get around."  
  
"Wouldn't dream of ruining your rep," she sassed as they approached the nurse's station together. The two nurses on duty at the station looked up and stared for a moment. Jules had a distinct impression they were having a difficult time reconciling what they were seeing. Genuinely curious now, "What?"  
  
"Nothing!" Clare responded almost too cheerfully as Albert flashed her an overly bright smile.   
  
"Ooookkkaaayyy....." Dr. Keating shook her head and took the chart Dr. Slingerland handed her before following the British doctor to exam room two. She couldn't help but hear the suddenly rise of whispers behind her. "Matt?"  
  
"Yes?" he asked, glancing back at her with wide eyes.  
  
"Do you get the feeling the rest of the staff knows something?" she made another peep over her shoulder at the nurse's station. They were all huddled together and whispering. An argument seemed to have started. "Something that they don't want me to know."   
  
"Don't be paranoid Jules," he teased with a grin. "You're a regular girl scout. What is there to know about you that the rest of the world doesn't already?"  
  
She gave him a good frown for that then thought better of it and raised one brow flirtatiously. "You'd be surprised, doctor." She wrinkled her nose adorably and sailed through exam room's glass door with a slack jaw Dr. Slingerland staring after her. "Good morning."  
  
The blonde haired woman sitting on the exam bed looked exactly as Jules would expect a woman that could solicit extra services from Slingerland would. Tall, leggy, blue eyed and looked like she just stepped out of some catalogue, the patient waited in a blue hospital gown with her wide eye son in her lap. It wasn't to say that Slingerland was a bad doctor, far from it. But the man did have a certain reputation among the female staff.   
  
Suppressing her own amusement, Jules extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Dr. Keating the resident pediatrician."   
  
The blonde took her hand limply. "Debra Jankins," then glanced down at the child. "And this Billy, my son."  
  
Leaning over, she brought forth a big smile usually reserved for her young patients. It made her look ten years younger and like everyone's favorite older sister. "Hi there Billy. I'm Jules," she extended her hand out formally. "And I'll be your doctor today."  
  
Delighted to be treated like an equal, Billy stuck his hand out and shook Jules's hand with more gust than his mother. "Hi."  
  
Smiling and reaching over, she brought the child up and over to the next exam bed. "Dr. Slingerland tells me that you've got stuff in your ear and cannot year like you should be. Is that right?" she waited while he nodded his head soberly. "How about you let me take a look? And we'll see what I can do for you." She laughed as Billy turned his ear toward her.   
  
Matt Slingerland smiled as he watched the doctor and child come together comfortably before turning to the almost unconcerned mother. He offered her the most reassuring gesture with a hand to her shoulder in a friendly manner. "No worries there, Dr. Keating is the best when it comes to the little buggers."  
  
Jules turned to smile at him for the compliment just as Debra dimpled up, "I knew you'd take care of us, Doctor," in the throatiest voice since Marilyn Monroe singing happy birthday to JFK, causing Dr. Keating to roll her eyes skyward at that obvious ploy at seduction, in front of her kid too.  
  
Wondering if it was possible for him to go up in flames from embarrassment, Slingerland cleared his throat and ignored Keating's ill attempt at hiding her amusement at his expense. "Let's have a look at those legs, shall we?" Then almost groaned at the choked laugher from Dr. Keating.   
  
"Of course, that's what I'm here for." Debra wasn't the first patient to flirt with him, far from it when single male doctors were such scarcity, but never had one done so in front of a fellow doctor. It was equivalent to getting caught with one's pants down.   
  
Backing up on the exam bed, Debra swung her legs around and posed for the young handsome doctor. Flashing him her most winning smile, she leaned back and waited as he warmed up his hands first.   
  
Jules shook her head again and turned back to her own patient with all the necessary equipment in hand. Draping a towel over the boy's shoulders, she bought the plastic try to the ear. "Okay Billy, I need you to be a big boy right now. You're going to feel some pressure in your ear, like someone pushed a pencil eraser in there. And you may feel a little dizzy from the pressure. It you feel bad, you tell me, okay? And I'll stop." He looked at him and to make sure he understood. "We got a deal?"  
  
Billy looked back at her with sober blue eyes and nodded. "Deal."  
  
"Good," ruffling his hair with hand as she picked up the wide nose syringe. "Here we go."  
  
It took a few minutes. "Aw...." Billy cried, pulling away from the irrigation syringe.   
  
Putting down the syringe, Jules pulled the little boy to her, rocking him gently as he sniffled into her lab coat. " Sh...It's okay, it's okay. You did very good." The little boy smelled like grease, fries and bubble gum. It was adorable.  
  
"Everything all right?" Slingerland asked as he dropped Debra's feet, where she says her arches were becoming painful to stand on.   
  
"Everything's fine," Jules said softly, pulling back to looked at Billy's weepy-eyed face. "Isn't it?"  
  
Billy nodded his head and wiped his eyes with his knuckles. "I got dizzy."   
  
"I know, I can see that," she smiled at him and glanced discreetly at the clock. "Can you hear any better now?"  
  
Nodding, Billy blinked at her than at Slingerland. "Everything is loud now."   
  
"I'm sure it feels that way," he smiled and ruffled the boy's head with fondness. "How's about we say thank you to Dr. Keating?"  
  
"Thank you, Dr. Keating," Billy repeated dutifully with adoring eyes at the nice lady doctor.  
  
"You're welcome, Billy," reaching into her pocket. "And for being such a brave big boy, here's lollipop for you."   
  
Billy took it eagerly. "Thank you. You're my favorite doctor."  
  
Slingerland groaned mockingly. "Great, bribing my patients for their affections. You should be a ashamed of yourself."  
  
Shaking her head, Jules laughed and began the clean up. She's got three minutes to get back up to her office for Kenny Davidson's appointment. "You're just jealous cause you didn't think of it first." She dropped the used equipment into disposal and turned to the mother, who was reclining on the exam bed. "Mrs. Jankins, Billy appears to have some uncommon build ups in his ear canals. You might want to think about buying come over the counter kits that will help with the removal of hardened earwax. That should clear up Billy's problems."  
  
"Sure, whatever," Debra replied causally with a shrug.   
  
Jules forced herself not to say anything more before heading for the door after a quick wave for Billy.  
  
"I'll be right back," Slingerland explained before stepping out the door behind Keating. "Jules, thank again for your help."  
  
"Sure," she glanced back into the room. "She seems very... trusting of your abilities."  
  
For the second today, Matt felt his face flush. "She's just... She came in complaining of a pains in her arches."   
  
"From waitressing," Jules concluded logically.   
  
"Right," he nodded and glanced at the nurse's station. Two nurses were opening watching the conversation taking place. The minute the nurses were spotted, they jump back into action, but doing a very poor job at concealing their interest in the conversation. The staring has come more frequent as of late. Dimissing that for the moment, Matt got back to the more pressing matter. "Last week she came in with a back problem. The week before that, it was her hands..."  
  
Dr. Keating laughed with delight.  
  
"It's not funny," Matt complained, irritated over the whole situation. He was use to being the chaser, not the chased. It was rather disconcerting. "I need help."  
  
"You need a chair and a whip," Jules laughed, not having this much fun since... since forever. The past few months have been trying on her if nothing else.   
  
"Come on Jules, help me out here," Matt asked, giving her that puppy dog look again.   
  
Rolling her eyes, she sighed knowing that she was probably going to regret this. "Seeing as how you did help me out once..."  
  
He brightened considerably. "Yes, I did."  
  
She just knew it was going to come back to bit her, "I guess it only seems fair that I help you out of your sticky situation."  
  
"Thank you," he grinned radiantly.   
  
She stopped by the stairwell door and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms in a resigned manner. "So, what do you want me to do?"  
  
"Debra works at the Blue Note."  
  
"The jazz place on 27th and New?"  
  
"Yes," happy that she knew where it was. "I want to convince her that she's wasting her time."  
  
Jules looked puzzled for a moment. "So bring that string of girls you are always parading around in there and show her your stable of fine fillies for a fine stud like you." She reached over and gave him a light punch in the arm.   
  
"Then she may really think she has a chance," he replied quite seriously. "I don't see her as the type that takes light competition as real danger. My usual..." he made a light jesture with his hand, almost embarrassed over the fact that it was well known that he's taste in women generally ran in the beautiful airhead types. "Let's just say that Debra's type does not let one of her own stand in the way. I need someone she can't compete with."  
  
Truly unsure of where this was going, "What does that have to do with me?"  
  
"Oh come now," Matt said exasperated. "You're smart, generous, kind and a good doctor to boot. You can talk circles around Debra and charm her son into letting you stick a big needle in his ear. You're cute as button and sweet as sugar. Debra couldn't even begin to fathom how to compete with you."   
  
Stunned to silence for a moment, Jules had to shaker her head to clear up the confusion for a moment. "Are you asking me to convince Debra that we're...we're..."  
  
"Together," he finished for her pleadingly. "Please?"  
  
Not exactly sure what to say, she paused for a moment to glance at her watch. "Um... I have to... egh... go now and see... um... a patient!" she finished suddenly. Pushing the stairway door open, she scrambled through it with Dr. Slingerland following close behind. "I'll talk you some more about it later, okay?"  
  
"Think about it Jules," Matt said hopefully. "Just one night, dinner with a friendly face. We just have to convince her that we're serious."  
  
She made a face, not sure how to respond. "I'll get back to you. I have a patient."  
  
"Sure," he said watching her climb the stairs as a hasty pace. "Tell me before you leave today."  
  
"Okay," she called back down as she made a mad dash upward and away from him.   
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So? What do you think? Like it? Hate it? Don't care enough to review? 


	2. Chapter 2

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's fact it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: The hospital rumor mill get hold of a hush-hush situation.   
  
Note: I really am trying to make this one interesting. And just so you know, Julianna Nickolson was one of my favorites starting from when she starred in "The Other," then later on "Ally McBeal."   
  
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Chapter 2  
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Dr. Slingerland caught put up to Dr. Keating just as she was about to make a convenient escape from the pediatrics ward. "A word with you doctor?"  
  
Jules nearly jumped out of her skin as she twirled around to greet the grinning Matt with a startled smile. The ten extra minutes with Suzy Rainer was going to cost her nearly now. "Sure."  
  
Matt glanced about, noting the number of curious faces. The amount of attention he was getting as of late was starting to become rather ... disconcerting. "In your office?"  
  
Seeing that the nursing staff for the night shift was not even trying to pretend they weren't interested in hearing the conversation, Jules nodded her head and lead the way. Shutting the door on several startled but fascinated face, she turned and shook her head at Dr. Slingerland. "Is it me or are the staff acting kind of funny?"  
  
"Same where I am too," Matt replied calmly as he crossed his arm and leaned his hips against her desk. While the topic of the staff's behavior is one mystery he would dearly love to solve, he had another pressing matter to attend to first. "So?"  
  
Putting her purse down, she dropped onto the giant snake that resides on the floor of her office and second as a chair for all the little children that trooped in and out of the room daily. "It's just a friendly dinner to lend you a friendly hand with your little... girl problem."  
  
"First of all," he pointed out with a dry smile. "She's neither little nor a girl. Secondly, of course it'll be a friendly dinner. We've had meal together without wanting to strangle each other, haven't we?"  
  
"Yes," Jules replied slowly. "But I want to make it clear that this will just be a friendly dinner between two friends and there will not be any...extra requirements to... help along the illusion."  
  
Dr. Slingerland frowned, having lost the rhythm of the conversation. "Are we talking about the same thing here?"  
  
She rolled her eyes at him. "Look, the dinner will not involve anything other than dinner. Granted I understand that you want to convince her that... that you're with a woman of your..." she shrugged. "Your level of intelligence?"  
  
"Yes," he nodded slowly.  
  
"But I don't plan on playing the role of the possessive, doting girlfriend."  
  
He grinned suddenly catching her drift. She was adorably sweet when her face was right with embarrassment, as this topic appeared to be. "You mean there won't be any unnecessary touching or hugging or kissing or..."  
  
"Exactly," she pronounced with a smile, glad that they were on the same plane now. "We clear?"  
  
Nodding, he stuck out a hand in mock sobriety. "Absolutely."  
  
"Good," taking the hand, sure that this wasn't the most horrible plan she's put herself in.   
  
"Excellent," bring the hand clasped in his to his lip, unable to resist teasing her just a little bit.  
  
"MATT!"  
  
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"Make sure Mrs. McMurrey does not get the meds before 8:00 AM. We want her nice and calm by the time surgery rolls around nine. If she starts sobering up before than and we have to medicate her once more, I'm taking it out on your heads," Dr. Letty Jordan warned with a sharp look. Nurse Gina Lealock had the grace to blush, remembering an incident not too long ago.   
  
"Letty," Rae Brennan called as she slide one chart back into the filing area and came up to her friend. "Sean is in Seattle tonight on some conference about a Senator and I'm home alone." She nudged the cardiologist with her elbow. "Want to ditch the husband and kids and go out on the town with me?"  
  
"Ladies night?" Dr. Jordan asked, making some final notes in her patient's chart.   
  
"Harriet says that she's up for it if the rest of us are."  
  
Letty nodded her head slowly and made a mental note to check with her husband about the frequency of his boy's poker nights. They often have light bantering over her lady's night yet she cannot recall a time when she's ever complained about his poker buddies stinking up her living room with cigars and beers. Yes, that should be a fun argument to get into. "The new plastic surgeon coming again?"  
  
"Jackie?" Rae looked over at the door that separated the spunky surgeon from the rest of the staff. The young doctor had been ranting and raving earlier in the day about a neurotic patient that obsessed over the length and curve of her nose, as well as other people's noses. She probably would need a little relaxation right about now. "I was thinking about inviting her. You want her to come?"  
  
"Sure, she has some interesting things to put in," closing the chart, she rolled her arms back and felt the tension from a full day's work scream. "Jules coming too?"  
  
"Took off before I got a chance to ask her," Rae replied, disgruntled. She had to hope to grill her friend over the whole sperm donor stuff since she hadn't heard anything more of it since their initial talk over three weeks ago.   
  
"No she hasn't," Clair interjected quickly from behind the receptionist area where she had been unambiguously listening in. "She and Dr. Slingerland went into her office and hasn't come out since."  
  
Rae and Letty both turned and looked at the receptionist with equally blank looks. "Patient?"  
  
"Not that anyone has heard of," Clair replied sweetly, her eyes gleaming with anticipation for the next question to come. But patience was never one of her many virtues and it was the one thing physicians have plenty of. Instead of waiting for the two women to ask, she blurted out, "The nurses lounge is holding a pool."   
  
Rae slanted Letty a quick glance of uncertainty. "A pool on what?"  
  
"Whether it going to be a boy or a girl."  
  
Letty choked on the cold coffee she's been sipping on all day. "What?"  
  
Clair leaned close and whispered conspiratorially. "Jamel in the tech room told Jenny from the second floor, who told Billy on the third floor, who told Janice on the fifth floor, who told Amy from the fourth floor, who got it Emily on the second floor, that they got that the report on Dr. Keating's pregnancy was positive." She glanced over her shoulder as another nurse came up from behind her to hand Dr. Jordan a partially completed patient order. "Charlotte, tell them about the rumor."  
  
Charlotte looked blankly at Clair for a moment.   
  
"*The* rumor," Clair emphasized with the widening of her eyes.   
  
"Oh," the hassled nurse finally got it. "You mean Dr. Keating."  
  
"And..." Clair encouraged. "The paternity?"   
  
Glancing hesitantly at the two waiting doctors who were rapidly becoming fascinated by the story, "Jamel said that report named Dr. Slingerland as the father," she made a face and left them to talk.  
  
Rae stared at Clair's mischievous face. "Matt and Jules?"  
  
Letty shook her head in disbelief. "You people are insane."   
  
"I'm just telling you what we've been hearing," Clair replied with a smile as she picked up some of the paper on the desk. "The two of them have been seen in each other's company more frequently than before and now with them closeted away..." she let the thought hang as she left with a smug smile. There was nothing like hospital gossip to make her day.  
  
Rea and Letty stood there for a moment, neither one sure what to say. "No way."  
  
"Can't be."  
  
"It's just idle gossip."  
  
"Jules isn't some silly fool hearted girl to fall for a pretty face."  
  
Letty looked at Rae funny. "Pretty face."  
  
"Well, the boy does have the cute British thing going for him," Rae replied with a shrug. "And I definitely agree with you, it's just idle gossip and nothing to it."  
  
Nodding her head, Dr. Jordan paged her husband on the page. "I'm going to tell that husband of mine that I'm going out tonight. Why don't you round up Jules and Dr. Colette?"  
  
"Okay," Rae replied, still chuckling over the ridiculous rumor over two of the most opposite people she's ever known in life. Slingerland was all playboy and goofiness while Keating was all innocence and sweetness. She should tell Jules about the rumors, she'd probably get a real kick out of it. "I'll go see about rescuing Jules from Matt's evil clutches and then go get Jackie."   
  
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Knocking, Rae waited patiently until a smiling, overly happy Slingerland pulled the door open. "Good evening, Dr. Brennan."   
  
The cheerful greeting, said in that low sexy British accent, had Rae raising her brows and rethinking her earlier assessment of the situation. "Evening, Slingerland. Problem with a patient?"  
  
"Nothing Jules didn't handle," Matt replied with a wide smile. He turned and looked at the pediatrician currently reclining on her over size snake on the floor. Inclining in his head, "Thanks again," before stepping aside and allowing Dr. Brennan and himself to trade places juxtapose the office door.   
  
Dr. Keating said nothing, wiggled her fingers at him before collapsing onto the stuff animal.   
  
Rae watched as Slingerland fairly skipped down the hall before turning her friend. Jules looked tired, resigned and just a little uncertain. "Hi there." When the only reply she got was a quick wiggle of the fingers, Rae propped herself down next to her friend. "What's going on?"  
  
"Oh nothing much," Jules replied with a sigh as she reached to her left and grabbed a big blue bear. Resting her chin on the bear, she looked over at Rae and smiled for her friend. "Ever done something that was... less that brilliant?"  
  
Rae smiled and tilted her head, her expression ironic and slightly regretful. "My affair with a certain Greek doc that we work with now."  
  
Jules turned and smiled at her. "At least you had fun doing it, right?"  
  
Thinking about the nights and days in the sand-blown tent. The excitement of working side by side to save lives. The way her heart just melted when he looked at her with those dark, exotic eyes.... "Yeah, it was plenty fun."  
  
Laughing at the smile that graced the oncologist's face, Dr. Keating threw the bear at her. "I'll bet you did."  
  
Rae couldn't help herself, she laughed. "Okay, enough about my sordid life." She leaned on her side and looked at the pixie face was currently scrunched up in concentration. "What going on in your life? Anything new? Any plans for the near future."  
  
Shrugging her thin shoulders, Jules sighed and got to her feet slowly, not really wanting to share her plans for the evening. "Nothing much. Thinking about getting one of those cute little scooters to ride around in."  
  
"Good, about the scooter I mean." Rae got up too, getting the feeling that her friend wasn't up to her usual perky self. "How about coming out with the ladies tonight. Letty, Harriet and maybe even Jackie are going to keep me company while Sean is away. We're doing a bonding experience."   
  
Jules smiled. "Sounds like fun."  
  
"Great, then I'll put you down and go get..."  
  
"But I can't tonight," she interrupted, picking up her coat and purse again. While functional, her slacks and blouse was not the most attractive items in her closet. And if she's going to pull this off for Matt, then she's going to have to make the effort to get gussied up. "I have plans tonight."  
  
"Oh," surprise clearly written on her face. She's known Jules for years now and while the girl wasn't lacking in companionship, her social life has been... well, it's been nothing she'd write home about. "Hot romantic date?"  
  
Keating laughed, the thought of her and Matt's plan to fool a patient into thinking they were an item when they couldn't be more different wasn't what she'd describe as hot or romantic. Though if Slingerland makes the effort, she's sure that he'd be one hell of a slick gentleman. Given his reputation, he probably has charmed the pants, or skirt, off more than one lady with his delicious accent and devilish smile. The amusing imagine of James Bond popped into her head, sending her into another peal of laughter.   
  
"Was what I said really that funny?" Rae asked, a little bemused.   
  
"No, no," Jules giggled and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Just a private joke that... never mined. No, there's no hot date waiting for me. God, it's been so long since I've had a date I'm not even sure what one is suppose to be like."  
  
Rae nodded slowly, suspicious. "So what's tonight?"  
  
"I... I promised to do a favor for a friend."  
  
"Oh," accepting the answer. Jules was a notoriously bad liar. Like so many of the good, honest ones, her face turns an unbecoming red when she fibs. "Okay, then. Guess you're going to miss out."  
  
"Yeah," she sighed and grabbed the door handle. "Talk to you later?"  
  
"Yeah," Rae smiled and waved. "Later."   
  
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"Are we ready?" Harriet Lanning asked in that soft mother's voice of hers as she slipped the soft lambskin gloves onto her hand. The day had been long, she delivered two babies almost simultaneously and she was hungry. "Where are the others?"  
  
Dr. Brennan and Dr. Jordan exchanged quick glances. Both grinned like silly schoolgirls. Rae was having a hell of a time keeping her laughter. "Harriet, you wouldn't believe what Letty here and I just learned today."  
  
"Really?" Harriet asked, one brow rose in gentle curiosity. "Anything to do with the new administrative reassignments?"  
  
"Nope," Letty answered, throwing the brown scarf over her shoulders. "Not even close."  
  
"What is it then?" Harriet asked.   
  
"Hey guys," Dr. Colette greeted as she came up in her flaming red shirt and black slacks. "What's up?"  
  
"The nurse's rumor mill is working double overtime," Letty informed her with a grin. She was not swallowing that stuff unless Keating walks up to her with a sonogram picture. And even then she better have a five-month stomach to prove it.   
  
"I've notice that, everyone's all whispering and giggling all day. Driving me nuts. Where's Keating?" Jackie asked as she picked up her short leather jacket.   
  
"Prior engagement," Rae answered.  
  
Jackie wiggled her brows. "Male or female?"  
  
"Your guess is as good as mine," Rae replied. "But she says she's doing a favor for a friend, so I guess that's what she's doing tonight instead of going out with us."   
  
Nodding her head, she pulled on wool gloves. "Well, for her sakes, I hope its male and he's hot for her. Anyways, does anyone know what's going on around the vines cause there's been plenty of whispers but I've got...." Tilting her head, she looked around Dr. Jordan. "Well, well... you look like the cat the swallowed the tweedy bird."   
  
"Hello, Ladies," Dr. Slingerland stopped abruptly before the gathered doctors. "Another ladies' gathering this evening?"  
  
Harriet glanced up and down slowly, noting that the young doctor was all spruced up and ready for an evening on the town. "You clean up nicely."  
  
"Thank you, Dr. Lenning," pulling on leather gloves and searched his pockets for car keys. "I strive to always keep the image of the smart, sophisticated physician. It gives the patients more confidence in our ability to dole out miracles."   
  
"Someone is in a good mood tonight," Jackie commented slyly. "Hot date?"  
  
Dr. Slingerland grinned at her before bowing at the waist and turning on his heels toward the basement parking. "Have a good evening ladies."   
  
Chuckling lightly, Jackie finished bundling herself up. "Now there goes a man that knows he's going to get lucky tonight." She glanced around cheerfully. "So where are we off to?"  
  
Rae and Letty stood there for a moment, both recalling the rumors that was currently flying around then promptly dismissed it once more. Causal dating was something they knew about from their own single days. Causal sex partners were also something they knew about. And while they can easily believe Matt Slingerland to below to both sets, Jules Keating was not a casual anything. "Any suggestions?"  
  
Jackie grinned as they headed toward the main entrance way. "There's this great jazz club that one of my patient was telling me about over on 27th Street. It's call the Blue Note and it's suppose to have some great food and fine men. I know the three of you are all married and everything. But being married doesn't make you blind to male physique. You can still appreciate some fine eye candy. And as for us single women; well... we can look for potential partners with a fine body. We should go and..." and she continued until they reached the trolley.   
  
TBC....  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~* 


	3. Chapter 3

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's fact it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: The hospital rumor mill get hold of a hush-hush situation.   
  
Note: I cannot remember what Dr. Letty Jordan's husband's first name is so we're just going to call him David. If anyone remembers, please drop me a note so I can go back and change it. Thanks.  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 3  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Coming!" Jules yelled at her front door as she tried to put earrings, watch and shoes on at the same time. It took longer than expected to tame her unruly hair with gel, mousse and an oversize blow dryer. Now she was ten minutes behind schedule and still not ready yet. Turning the three locks on the door and pulling the door open a crack, she dropped one shoe and the pendant she had planned on wearing for the evening. Hopping on one foot, she tried to clasp the discreet silver anklet on her other feet as she made her way to the breakfast counter where her purse had been laid. "Make yourself at home."  
  
Matt stopped just inside the door and looked around for a moment. He's never had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Keating apartment before and this may be his only chance to do so. The small townhouse had all the comforts without any of the fusses. The living room was spacious with a cherry red sofa set and glass and oak coffee table. The fish tank in the corner was crowded with three ferns that needed more sun. The small wooden dining room table was pushed to one side and decorated with a fresh vase of flowers. The kitchen was just beyond the counter that separated the two rooms. The house was spotless and smelled delicately sweet. Very much like the owner.  
  
After his examination of the house, he turned to the woman.  
  
Dr. Slingerland has only seen Jules outside her professional attire on the few occasions they were forced to join the benefactors of the hospital. And on those occasions, she always choice to wear demurrer sober attires that added dignity to her youthful face. This was the first time he's seen her dress... her age.   
  
The sleeveless crush velvet cocktail dress was auburn with intricate maple leaf designs interlace with black mash. And while it revealed nothing, it hinted at enough to tantalize. The neckline dipped low and the back dipped lower. The thin strapped sandals she choice to complete the ensemble was flirty and dangerous in the nippy weather but looked too good not to risk frozen toes. The long black tailor coat resting over the back of a bar stool by the counter would be her own defense against the San Francisco winter.   
  
"I sincerely hope your car as heat," she said with a smile as she slipped the small diamond studs into her ear. She gave his charcoal gray suit an appreciative glance. "Nice."  
  
"Like wise," he replied, feeling just a little hot under the collar. He hadn't expected to feel any kind of attraction... but there it was. "Need help with that?" he asked as she struggled to put her necklace on.  
  
"Thanks," turning to give him her back and tilted her head forward.   
  
He hesitated for a moment, swallowing to put some moisture into his mouth once more as he stared at the expansion of creamy smooth skin on Dr. Keating gracefully arched back. With all those adorable freckles on her face, he'd had expected some on her back as well. But there was nothing but a light sprinkle of golden specks on her lovely shoulders. "There."  
  
Turning around, she gave him an impish smile. "Well? What do you think? Will I do?"  
  
Reframing from saying what he really thought, given that it was likely to make her back out of the evening's events, he merely nodded his head enthusiastically as any happy man when faced with a pretty woman would. "Lovely."   
  
Jules rolled her eyes and laughed lightly. "Wow, you're flattery just swept me off my feet." She ruffled through her purse for keys, pager, lipstick and other assortment of things necessary for an evening out. "I figure that given you usually form of dates," she looked over at him knowingly, "I should at least attempt to match up that that lofty standard." She pulled a charm bracelet from the beaded purse she planned on carrying tonight. "Bracelet or no bracelet?"  
  
Examining the assortment of charms on the silver chain, he felt slightly bemused. "I would have expected teddy bears, little hearts, angels or something. But planets of the solar system?"   
  
Fingering the little silver charms, Dr. Keating smiled fondly at them. "When I was little, my brothers and I would go and watch the stars in the sky from the roof of our house. When I was fifteen, I was sure that I wanted be an astronomer. My dad was excited and got me a huge telescope set. My mom was sure I would change my mind and got me the charm bracelet instead."   
  
"What changed your mind about the stars?" Slingerland asked amiably as he fastened the clasp into place around her slender wrist and picked up her coat, holding it out for her.   
  
Slipping her arms into the sleeves of the coat, she smiled her thanks and picked up her purse and keys. "I got my drivers license when I was sixteen. My best friend, Mitzi Crawford, got it at the same time and decided that she was going to have her first drive as an adult behind the wheels of her boyfriend Jeffrey Randall's little red convertible."  
  
Matt made a face as he held the door open and waited for her to walk out before pulling the door shut behind him. "Why do I have the feeling that this isn't going to be one of those happy stories?"   
  
"Mitzi and Jeff drove down the highway at ninety miles an hour and plowed into Dave Stafford's car... with me in it."  
  
"Ouch!" walking out toward his little black two-door Mustang. Punching his remote ar lock harder than he should, he pulled the door open for her and helped her tuck the long coat into the car before shutting the door. Getting behind the wheel, he glanced over at her. "Cold?"  
  
"Yeah," she laughed as he turned on the heat. "Anyways, I came out of the wreck with little more than scratches and a black eye."  
  
"Black eye?" he laughed and stopped at a red light.   
  
"Dave's elbow. He landed on me when the car flipped over." She glanced about, suddenly feeling slightly nervous. "Anyways, Mitzi wasn't so lucky and crashed twice on the way to the hospital." She toyed with the beaded on her purse. "I watched the doctor's in the emergency room revive her twice and remove a piece of glass the size of her kidney out of her lungs."   
  
"Quite a life altering experience, heh?" He said as they passed 18th street.  
  
"Actually, I lost my lunch and dinner in the emergency room and passed out. Then I woke up and saw Mitzi become violently sick next to me." She grinned at him as he laughed uproariously at the image. "But she was alive."   
  
"And you wanted to perform the same kind of miracles?" he asked gently, making a quick change of lanes as the streets became crowded with cars making their way home.   
  
"Yeah," she nodded and watched as the light turned from green to yellow to red before Slingerland passed the pedestrian lines of the street to pass the intersection. "Um... you just..." she sighed. "Nevermind."  
  
"What did you say?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing," she murmured gently as he got closer to the club. Fidgeting slightly, she took a deep breath.   
  
"What's wrong?" Matt asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. "You look kind of nervous."  
  
"I am," answering honestly. "Matt, I'm not sure I can do this."  
  
He glanced at her, frowning over the way she was chewing on her lower lip and twisting her fingers together tightly. Reaching over, he squeezed her interlaced fingers gently. "Jules, you are a beautiful, smart woman with loads of charms. And we aren't doing anything wrong or illegal, just two friend out having dinner."  
  
"All the while trying to convince an infatuated woman that you are off limits to her," she pointed out. "You don't think that's just a little dishonest? Why not just tell her that you are not interested?"  
  
"You don't think I've tried?" he asked, a little offended by her lack of faith in his manners. "But there is only so much you can say to a woman without being offensive."  
  
"So that's why we're going to lie to her instead?"  
  
"We're going to let her face reality," he correctly as he pulled to the side of the street in front of the valet area.   
  
"But it's not reality, you and I are not dating." She replied as he got out of the car and handed his spare keys to the waiting hands of the valet. She pushed the door open and accepted the hand Slingerland offered to get out of car. "We're creating illusion for her benefit."   
  
"Yes but it will help her move on with her life," he coaxed gently, pulling her gently toward the entrance of the lively club.   
  
"And remove you from a sticky situation," she finished with a grin and shook her head in amusement and resignation. It looks like she was stuck and can only play this out. Well, if nothing else, she will at least get a free meal and some good music out of the evening. "And how are you going to ensure that we end up at a table she waits on?"  
  
"Oh ye have little faith," he chide.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"I'm going to have to bring David here one day," Dr. Jordan said with a grin. "This is a nice place they got here."  
  
"Yeah, very upscale but still enjoyable," Harriet Lenning commented as she popped another peanut into her mouth. "You have good music, restaurant area, bar area, and dance floor. A great place to spend an entire evening."   
  
"And some fine men to look at," Jackie sighed as another male with a nice set of abs walked by. "God, I hate being single and unattached."  
  
"Jackie, with your credentials, you're going to have men flocking to your side," Rae pronounced as she sipped the Long Island ice tea with enough kick to get a dead man up and dancing on a table top. It was exactly what she needed.   
  
"So where the heck are they?" Jackie asked a she finished her Cosmopolitan in one solid gulp that had Rae and Letty staring. "What?"  
  
"You're a doctor for goodness sakes, you have a pretty good idea what consuming alcohol like that can do to your liver." Letty shook her head and sipped the coke and rum she's been nursing since they arrived. "Where's the food, I'm starved."  
  
"Where's that cute waiter?" Jackie asked with a grin as she looked around for the tall blonde Nordic god that had taken their order. Not the brightest bulb in the much but he certainly did have a body that could make Jackie drool. Then something else caught her eyes; had she been drinking, she'd be spewing it all over her fellow patrons of the fine establishment. "Well, that's unexpected."   
  
"What is?" Rae asked, turning her head and promptly did spit her drink onto the floor, barely missing a man with a fine sports coat that had had the misfortune of walking by at an inopportune time. "Sorry about that," she apologies but couldn't keep her eyes from straying to the most unlikely sight. "Is that..."  
  
"Slingerland and Keating," Letty finished with her jaw still hanging somewhere in the region of her feet.   
  
Harriet Lenning turned in her seat and peered at the two through a dense crowd of people. Even from the distance of the room, it was not hard to locate the tall stately Dr. Slingerland with one hand resting lightly against the small of Dr. Keating back. "Hum... guess those two got close."   
  
"I didn't know they were dating," Jackie commented as the Nordic God waiter finally approached with a tray load of food for the semi-starved doctors. "Thank you," flashing him her most winning smile.  
  
He smiled back, revealing an even roll of white teeth. A definite model wantabe if she ever saw one. The slightly vacant look in his eyes dropped him from possibly-interesting to would-be-bored-by-midnight category. But hey, he was still fine eye candy for the rest of the female population.   
  
Rae waited until the waiter had left before leaning over. "I didn't know either though there has been rumors."  
  
"Rumors?" Harriet asked, her brows knitted slightly as she turned in her chair to watch as Slingerland pulled out the chair for Keating, who eased herself into the seat with a natural grace that came from being a tomboy most of her life; after navigating the art of falling from a tree, everything else in life is make much simpler. "There are rumors of Jules and Slingerland?"  
  
"Oh yeah," Letty nodded her head and then shook it in disbelief. The rumors must have some truth in it then if the two were so obviously on a date together. Heck, even from here she could tell Jules made some considerable effort to dress up for the night.   
  
Jackie's eyes went wide. "Oh, so that's what all the whispering at the nurses station was about."  
  
Harriet laughed gently. Why not? The two of them may have come together for a rather unusual reason but still... She's definitely seen stranger bedfellows before. Funny, the two had created life together before even going on a date. Talk about reverse order of things.   
  
Rae shook her head slowly at the cozy little corner the maitre d' had secured for the couple. "Oh Jules, what were you thinking?"   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Oh god, what was I thinking agreeing to this?" Jules muttered as Slingerland scanned the wine selection with a critical eye. They hadn't even run into Debra yet and already she was a nervous wreak. "Matt, I beginning to think that this was a really bad..."  
  
"Do you like white or red?" he asked suddenly, his smile bright and easy. "A little wine will help you relax and you'll see how easy this will be."   
  
"If you think getting me drunk is going to..."  
  
"Oh please," he waved it away and put down the wine menu. "I hardly need to ply a woman with wine to encourage agreeability toward me. Besides which incapacitating you would be hardly be productive to tonight's plans. I need you at the top of your games here. We're on a mission."  
  
"Speaking of which," she looked around nervously noting the many couples seated around the dance. "I'm not sure I can do this. I'm a doctor not an actor."   
  
"You're doing fine," he said reassuringly. "The maitre d' thought we made a nice copy and seated us in this sweet little spot."  
  
Jules slanted him a look and smiled suddenly. "And here I thought it might have something to do with that twenty you slipped her."  
  
Matt grinned shamelessly at her. "Hey, all is fair in love and..."  
  
"Good evening, my name is Debra and I'll be your..." she stopped midway through her often rehearsed introduction and stared. "Dr. Slingerland!"  
  
"Debra," forging perfect surprise on his classically handsome face. "What a surprise, do you work here?"   
  
"Only on my good days," she smiled invitingly at him, completely ignoring his companion.   
  
It was difficult situation and Jules certainly wasn't doing a very good job of hiding her obvious amusement over the whole thing. The twitching of her lips weren't making it any easier on Matt to avoid the exasperation he was beginning to feel more acutely by the minute. "Debra, you remember Dr. Keating," reaching and taking Jules's hand before she had a chance to withdrawal it from his reach.   
  
Turning to smile, Jules was greeted by the sight of Debra's face contorting to a rather unpleasant expression. Dr. Keating at a rather nasty feeling that the blonde beauty would like nothing better at the moment than to tear all her hair out. Forcing herself not to react, "Hello Debra, nice to meet you again. How is Billy?"  
  
That was nothing more unattractive than a jealous woman, or at least that was what Matt's grandfather use to say. Of course, his sweet nana never wore any such a look for she knew that her husband of forty odd years adored her down to the last silvery strand of hair on her head. Which reminded him that he must remember to write his grandparents soon.   
  
"Billy?" Debra's face was straining to appear calm, and she almost succeeded if not for the venom in her eyes. "Oh Billy. He's doing just fine, Dr. Keating."   
  
"That's good," Jules replied, glancing briefly at Matt, who seemed slightly distracted. "Matt, did you want to order some..."  
  
"You two are...friend?" Debra asked, biting out the last word through slightly clinched teeth.   
  
Matt brought Jule's hand closer to him, the movement deliberate to draw Debra's eyes. "Yes, Jules and I are... very good friend." The significance there could not be missed. He looked to Jules with smile. "White wine?"  
  
Nodding her head, she resisted the urge to pull her hand back. The palms were smooth, warm and firmly enclosing her smaller hand. There was something just a little too intimate about the ease in which he made the gesture. But then, this was what she had come to help him out with.  
  
Slingerland smiled back at Debra with the indulgence of made in the fond company of a lover and nodded his head. "Two Chardonnays, iced."   
  
Clinching her teeth to keep from howler in frustration and anger, Debra jotted it down on her pad with enough force to break the tip of her pencil. "Two whites coming up," then dropped the dinner menu on the table instead of handing it to them before fleeing to the kitchen.  
  
Still keeping a hold of her hand, Slingerland grinned happily at Debra's retreating back. "Well, that went well. Don't you think?"  
  
Jules had a feeling that this would be a long night.   
  
TBC....  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
I got to catch tonight's episode of Presidio Med. It had one brief but shining moment of Jules and Matt. (sigh) They definitely need more scenes together. Who do I have to petition to request for more scenes with them? 


	4. Chapter 4

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's fact it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: The hospital rumor mill get hold of a hush-hush situation.   
  
Note: I cannot recall if Dr. Harriet Lenning's husband was given a name on the show or not so I'm going to call him Harold for now. If anyone knows the answer to this chapter's character name challenge, please drop me a note. Thanks.  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 4  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"You know," Jackie said, her eyes going mischievously bright. "This is going to make some pretty interesting gossip tomorrow morning."  
  
"Tell me you're not planning on helping the rumor mill," Letty said as she leaned back in her chair to see around a large woman in an uncommonly orange dress. The two young doctors appeared to be in a discussion of some sort with Slingerland leaning toward Keating in a reassuring manner as he ignored the wine menu in his hands. "Wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't seeing it myself."  
  
Harriet smiled and turned her head and took another sip of the soda she had been nursing all evening. "Well, strange circumstances make strange bedfellows."   
  
Rae tore her eyes away from the cozy couple that were now ordering form a tall blonde waitess. "What does that mean?"  
  
Dr. Lenning merely smiled, shrugged her shoulders and took another sip of soda.   
  
"You know something don't you?" Letty Jordan deduced with a grin. This was getting more interesting by the moment. There was never a shortage of intrigue at the hospital but never this juicy.   
  
"Share," Jackie said as she leaned in to hear better.   
  
"Sorry ladies," holding up her hand with regret. "But doctor-patient confidentiality does apply here."  
  
"Really?" Rae asked, her suspicions high now. "Or are you just unwilling to pass long hot news?" She turned her head to catch Slingerland taking Jules's hand gently in his. For the entire world, it was a causally intimate gesture that would only be noticed when one was not expecting it. "Well..."   
  
"Looks pretty together to me," Jackie said as she grinned. "You know, when I came to the hospital, I had Slingerland pegged as a playboy and Keating as a total girl scout." She shook her head and watched as Slingerland brought Keatings hand closer to him. She looked embarrassed by he seemed oblivious of everything else but her company. "But... this... this could definitely make a believer out of me."  
  
"Believer in what? The strange and unusual?" signaling a waiter, Letty finished her drink and pointed to her glass. The waiter nodded his head and turned to the bar.   
  
"In the attraction of opposites," Jackie grinned and looked around. "Where's the food? I'm starving now."  
  
"You sure you won't share, Harriet?" Rae asked as she watched her much amused friend turn to watch Slingerland and Keating lean toward each other to hear the words the other was saying.   
  
"Can't," Harriet replied, smiling with some concern. She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't just a little concern for Jules's heart. Matt Slingerland was too well known for his charms and Jules... Jules was too much like a daughter to her for her not to worry that the young woman was going to get her heart broken. But then again, stranger things have happened.  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Jules leaned in and said through a forced smile, "You can let go of my hand now."  
  
"What's hurry?" Matt asked, playing with her finger for a moment. "We won't want Debra to think that there's trouble in paradise now, would we?" He was thoroughly finding it amusing that he appeared to be making her slightly nervous. It was always an assumption on his part that Jules Keating knew him enough to be oblivious to his charms. But it would appear to be otherwise.   
  
"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" she asked, slowly extracting her hand from him and resting her chin on her knuckled as she rest her elbows on the table. The lone candle in the red holder threw rosy glows on her cheerfully freckled face. While not classically beautiful, she was as adorable as a sprite.   
  
"I need to know that I'm not going to be drawn into a badly played game of love and war," he replied as he leaned toward her. "And with women like Debra, it is always war." The band picked up a lively song that had a solid beat that had everyone on the dance floor jumping.   
  
Jules's face lit as she recognized the song.   
  
"Fan?" Matt asked, glancing over his shoulder at the six-man band that was keeping the place entertainment. The wailing sax was quite impressive.  
  
"My dad loved big band swing music," Jules clarified. "We must have had every record known in existence that had any type of big band music. Drove my mother crazy cause we wouldn't be able to afford new gym shoes for my brother but Dad could still get his records. Thank god records were cheap by the time we were kids or I swear my mother would have divorced Dad over it."   
  
Matt laughed. "My father was always an opera fan, all the classic for dear old dad. My mother tried to get my father to understand that children cannot always appreciate the hollering and shrieking of opera singers. But dad was stubborn, dragged us to every performance he could get tickets for when he was actually at home."  
  
There was a mixture of fondness and irritation in his tone that had Jules wondering. "Did you learn to appreciate it?"  
  
"To some extent," he said with a nod as the band picked up the beat to the delight of the dancers. "I can enjoy it in increments." He watched as several couples took center stage with fancy moves that had their neighboring dancers stopping to watch. He glanced back at Jules's delighted face and smiled. Her bright green eyes were lit with an inner fire that was rather bewitching to behold. "Dance?"  
  
"What?" clearly startled.  
  
"Would you like to dance?" holding out his hand to her. "You do know how to swing dance, don't you?"  
  
The teasing challenge in his voice had her raising a superior brow at him. "Do zebras have strips?" taking his hand firmly and getting to her feet. Looks like she was going to get to break in her high heels after all. "I have to warn you though, I was pretty darn good back in college."  
  
Matt laughed and turned her about with an overhead turn. "Wasn't too shabby myself back in the days. Get ready to rocket, little lady."  
  
"Take it away, Buck Rogers," she replied chuckling as they took to the floor.   
  
For a pair that hasn't taken a turn on the dance floor since their days before medical school, internships and work consumed their every waking hour, the two danced like pros. Every turn, every twist, every dip and twirl was in synch as they took center stage.   
  
Slingerland moved well, long limbs that should have been clumsy were schooled by polo, rugby and fencing lessons that had part of the curriculum in a British boarding school. Keating was graceful from her hoydenish days as a regular tomboy, navigating between limbs of trees, playing baseball, soccer and various other outdoors activities that kept her tanned, freckled and happy. Matt learned to lead early and Jules learned not to ever anticipate her partners from long before. Together, they made a smoothly beautiful team on the brightly lit floor.   
  
The band ended on a high note as Matt dipped Jules low, putting his weight on his leg to support her bent body, balancing the two with sheer calm strength. Neither one realized they were the last and only couple that been left on the dance floor to dance until the enthusiastic applause erupted from the gathered crowd around them.   
  
Jules blushed as Matt pulled her smoothly onto her feel, catching her around the waist to help her balance. Bowing, he gave her a quick gentle nudge to get her to do the same, before they left the dance floor to the disappointment of some gathered hoping to see more of the excellent dancing.   
  
"Where did you learn to do that?" Matt asked as he held her seat out for her.  
  
"I can ask the same thing of you?" Jules said with laugh and took a sip of the ice water someone had brought to the table. "I didn't think swing dancing was part of something the British education system requires of their students."  
  
"No, but we did have to learn all the basic classics," he grinned and took a sip of the water, chewing on an ice chip. "The waltz, two-step and the foxtrot were a must. I learned the jitterbug and swing came along naturally since it was similar." He tilted his head and gave her a sly look. "For the more exotic such as salsa, tango, rumba and some of the more forbidden dances, we learned after hours." Jules laughed until tears came to her eyes. "Your turn."  
  
"Mom and Dad were excellent swing dancers... for people that have two left feet," she chuckled with fondness. "I seriously think that they were trying to cripple each other when they danced. Fortunately, my brothers and I had been gifted with some grace in movements. My older brother Jerry was a champion swing dancer. But he was shy, so he would only practice with his kid sister or his dance partner, the woman he eventually married." She sighed remembering some afternoons spent having to put up with Jerry's perfectionist nature. "There is nothing like learning from someone who knew what they were doing."  
  
"That must have made for some lovely quality time with your siblings," he looked up in time to see Debra return from her kitchen trip. "Here comes Debra."   
  
"I guess she wants us to order," Jules predicted as she picked up her menu, not seeing a word on it as she giggled. "I wonder if she saw us."  
  
"Oh, judging by rather green look on her face, I would say yes," Matt replied picking up his menu as well.   
  
That set Jules off again.  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Did you know that Slingerland could dance?" Rae asked with a rather stunned look at her face.   
  
"Dance?" Letty asked, "I didn't even know he could walk without causing a train wreck."   
  
"The boy can move all right," Jackie commented as she watched Keating taking a dip with only Slingerland's arm as support. "And then some."  
  
"They certainly do look comfortable together," Harriet commented with a grin. She remembered when Harold would take her dancing when work became too stressful for her health. Perhaps one night, she'll have to bring him here.   
  
Rae nodded her head as she watch the twirl and whirl of Jules on high heels, her sweet face bright with delight. Their bodies match each other's movements but never touching. A twist of the hips, the turn of the arms, a push of the hands... it was like a choreographed dance. "Like they've done this before."   
  
"So how long have those two been dating and no one knew about it?" Jackie asked before a man with dark eye and bedroom eyes distracted her. "Excuse me, ladies. Hormones are a calling." She slipped out of her seat and flashed Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Sexy a come hither look.   
  
"That's a good question," Letty asked as she shifted in her seat to get a better view of the dancing couple but the crowd that had gathered around the dance floor wasn't making it easy. "And why hasn't Jules said anything."  
  
Shrugging her shoulders, Rae picked at her crunchy golden fries. "If I was dating Matt Slingerland, I wouldn't announce it either. People would think I was one of the dozen woman on his long list of... of... you know."   
  
Letty nodded her head in acknowledgement. "What do you think Harriet?"  
  
"I think," putting her fork to the Caesar salad she had ordered. "That Jules is wise enough to know what she's about. That the two are very good dancers. That other people's private lives are none of my business." Spearing a tomato, she smiled at her friends.   
  
Dr. Jordan and Dr. Brennan looked at one other. "In other words, we should butt out."  
  
"In other words, your hot meals are growing cold."  
  
"We can take a hint."  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Dr. Keating closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. "I don't know how you can eat that."  
  
"What?" Matt asked, cutting the beef into thin slices. For not being a steak house, their steaks were rather fine.   
  
"Beef," she said, shaking her head and taking another bite of her salmon in cream sauce. "I never understood Americans and this beef obsession."  
  
"First of all, I'm British. Second, beef is a very fine and basic staple of our meals. Third, it has very benefit proteins in it."  
  
"So does fish," she replied breaking off a piece. "And I don't have to worry about mad cow disease when I take a meal either."   
  
He shook his head at her, "The USDA has found no traces of the disease here in North America," spearing a piece, he held up it to her. "Try it."  
  
"What?" leaning against the offered forkful. "No."  
  
"Try it," he said again. "You're not a vegetarian, are you?"   
  
"No, I'm not a vegetarian and I know what beef tastes likes, thank you very much. I just prefer not to eat it." She said, taking sip of the wine. She had made Matt taste it first, fearing that Debra had poisoned it. That look of death she had received from the woman was rather frightening.   
  
"When was the last time you had some?" he asked, still holding the offering to her. "Just take the bite."  
  
She glanced at it for a moment before leaning in to take the meat into her mouth. The sweet, tangy sauce that had been generously applied sent a small thrill down her back. Chewing slowly, she savored the texture and taste of the soft meat.   
  
Matt was slightly stunned by the sheer delight he was experiencing just by watching her enjoy herself. He had a disconcerting feeling that this night was not going exactly to plan. Shaking his head, he quieted the uneasy feeling. "Now tell me there not something rather satisfying about chewing on that as oppose to your fish."  
  
"Okay," she conceded reluctantly. "So there is something rather primitively gratifying about sinking your teeth on flesh."   
  
He made a face. "Not when you put it like that."  
  
Jules laughed. "Must be a feeling left over from our Neanderthal days," she scooped up some fish on her fork. "But fish has all the proteins we need without any of the extra fats," she offered it to his lips, which opened to take the offering forkful. "Now tell me that it isn't just as delicious."  
  
Watching her watching him expectedly, he had the insane urge to learn forward and taste those sweetly curved lips against his own. Shaking the ridiculously thought fro his mind, he cleared his throat and concentrated on the food. "That's surprisingly good. What was it?"  
  
Grinning, "Grilled salmon with creamy clam sauce. Overkill on the cholesterols but god the taste is worth it."   
  
"I'll say," he smiled back. The whole exchange was beginning to get a reaction from him that he had not expected nor want. Changing the subject seemed like a proper course of action. "My father called the other day."  
  
"How is he?" she asked politely as she finished her meal slowly.   
  
"Very good, made another killer deal," he smiled and set his wine glass down. "He asked about the eggs again."  
  
"Eggs?" she looked puzzled for a moment before her eyes went wide. "My eggs?"  
  
Nodding, Matt grinned rather evilly. "He asked whether anything ever came of it."   
  
"I hadn't planned on using them unless as a last ditch effort to have my own kids."  
  
"I know," he reassured her quickly. "But my father was still nervous over the whole legal responsibility issue."  
  
Jules nodded her head with understand. "You can assure your father that if I ever decide to have kids using the frozen eggs, you are under no legal, financial or moral obligations toward me or the kid. I'll even put it down in writing if you'd like."  
  
"I don't doubt you, Jules," Slingerland replied softer feeling slightly miffed over the fact that she appeared to really not expect anything from him other than... what she already got. "But..."  
  
"But?" she asked.  
  
He looked at her, serious all of a sudden. "If I were to... just show up when you had the baby. Would you really deny me a chance to know him or her?"  
  
"Urg... Matt... this... this is...um..." she put her fork down slowly by the plate.   
  
Holding up a hand, he stopped her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked the question. It was terribly inappropriate of me to do so. I apologize."   
  
"Matt..."  
  
"No, no, don't answer, please." He smiled and reached for her hand. Squeezing it gently, "I know that whatever your decision would be, it would be the wise one."  
  
She smiled and turned her hand about to link with is for a moment. "Matt, I said it once before and I will say so again, you are not your father. What you do with life is up to you. And your kids... I'm sure they'd be very lucky to have you as their father."  
  
The sincerity was touchingly sweet. But then, it's what he's come to expect from sweet darling little Jules with her adorable pixie face. "Thank you."  
  
"Dessert?" Debra asked, coming up to them so quickly that the two sprung apart like guilty teens caught doing something they weren't suppose to.  
  
Matt cleared his throat and tried to smile at the blonde woman that was holding out a tray of sweet confections. For a moment, his mind drew a blank. "Jules, would you like some dessert?"  
  
"Oh... um...." She looked at the tray blindly for a moment, trying to compose herself. "I don't I can finish one."  
  
Keeping the plan firmly in mind, for everything they were doing was simply to facilitate the plan, he picked up a plate of tiramisu. "Why don't we share then?" he smiled at Debra before turning his eyes to Jules, who glanced at the offered sweets with curiosity. "The most sinfully delightful creation of the ... where is tiramisu from?"   
  
"I don't know," she said picking up the dessert fork. "I just know it's good."  
  
"Thank you," Matt said and turned to Debra, who was watching Jules with a critical eye. "Could you bring me the check?"  
  
She nodded slowly, watching them for a long time before turning to go.  
  
"Think she suspects something?" Jules asked carefully as she took a forkful of sweets. "Oh, this is too good."  
  
"Whatever happens, this has been a lovely evening," he toasted her with a forkful of tiramisu. "Thank you, Dr. Keating, for lending a friendly hand."  
  
Jules nodded her head. "You're welcome, Dr. Slingerland. It's been fun."   
  
"Yes it has," more than a little surprise how true it was.   
  
TBC....  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Throwing the whole thing back into the hospital next. Yes, for those of you that are curious, there is going to be Nick in this story. (How anyone expects me to write a Presidio Med fan fiction without at least having a mention or two of Oded Fehr's character is beyond me?)   
  
R&R please. 


	5. Chapter 5

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's fact it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: The hospital rumor mill get hold of a hush-hush situation.   
  
Note: This is going to be one of those slight filler chapters as I move the story alone. Please enjoy it.  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 5  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Dr. Slingerland, your 2:30 is here," Clare called out as Matt was passing by the receptionist desk on his way to his office. There was about three hours worth of paper work to be caught up on.   
  
Puzzlement crossed his face, as the words finally registered in his mind after taking another half dozen steps down the hall. Turning about, he pinned Clare with a disbelieving look, "My what?"  
  
"Your patient," Clare explained perturbed for a moment. "She's in exam room three."   
  
"I don't have a 2:30 appointment," he explained slowly coming back to the receptionist's desk. "I purposely left it open for an hour to do office work."  
  
"Don't look at me," the redheaded secretary replied handing him the necessary chart. "Frank made the appointment," pointing to her fellow lanky receptionist.  
  
"FRANK!" Slingerland was not a happy man.  
  
"Sorry but she said it was an emergency," Frank explained quickly, taking the chart from Clare's hand and passing it to him. "She's got a pretty sick kid on her hand."  
  
"Kid?" he asked dropping his stack of paperwork onto the counter and glancing at the chart's heading. "Oh bloody hell." It was Debra Jankins. "Page Dr. Keating," he instructed before heading for exam room three. He'll need Jules to deal with the mother and the sick child.  
  
Bracing himself, Slingerland came around the corner and stared at the mother and child through the glass partition. The look on Billy's face had him running into the room. "Billy? What's wrong?" touching the boy's forehead with his hand.   
  
Billy moaned and said nothing, his head bent over the trashcan he was clutching onto for dear life.  
  
Debra sighed and looked at Slingerland. "He woke up feeling sick and told me so. I thought he was just trying to get out of going to preschool, you know like most children do. The school nurse called me during lunch and told me that Billy made a mess on the playground and told me to pick him up. He's been throwing up since."  
  
"Okay," he ran a quick hand over the top of Billy's head as the boy groaned and empty his stomach once more. "Let me get someone." Walking over to the side of the room, he picked up the phone. "Clare, get me Dr. Keating on the phone. Now please, we have a bit of a problem." There were a few moments of silence as the dull elevator music of the phone system's waiting period came on.   
  
"Keating."  
  
"It's Slingerland."  
  
"Matt, I don't appreciate being paged when there isn't..."  
  
"I've got Billy Jankins here, in exam room three."   
  
"Jankins? As in your blonde problem?"  
  
The amusement in her tone was not appreciated, especially not now. "The boy is looking a bit green around the gill."  
  
The sobered her up nicely. "How bad?"  
  
"Losing all his stomach contents now and it's been nearly two hours. It doesn't look good."  
  
"I'm on my way." The phone clicked dead.  
  
"Dr. Keating is on her way," he said as he came back to the exam table.  
  
"Isn't there anyone else?" Debra asked, barely able to suppress the irritation in her voice.   
  
"She's the best," he pronounced with a smile for Billy, who looked up pitifully. "And we do want the best for little Billy here, don't we?" his voice held enough challenge that Debra should have taken the hint.   
  
"Why can't you do something about it?" she asked.  
  
"Because I don't specialize in children the way Dr. Keating does," he explained wincing as Billy spewed clear liquid from his mouth once more. Looks like his stomach is now officially empty. "Oh, this is not good."   
  
Two discreet taps on the door before Dr. Keating announced herself. "Hi there. What's going on? Billy?" her nose wrinkled with concern as Billy heaved more clear liquid from his mouth. She reached for the waste bin as she passed it and exchanged it for the one in Billy's hand. "Let me have a look," tilting the boy's face up to her. "Oh, you must be feeling really yucky right about now." The boy nodded his head miserably. "I'm going to do a quick exam up on you and see if I can make you feel any better, all right?" Again, he nodded his head. "Okay."  
  
Keating turned to Slingerland. "Call up to pediatrics and tell them to get me Billy's charts." She turned to the mother. "Billy has been there before, right?" Debra nodded her head quickly.   
  
Slingerland picked up the phone as Jules moved Billy fully onto the bed. "You tell me where it hurts okay?" After a full exam, with Billy crying out when she pressed on tender spots, Jules frowned with concern as she watched Billy gagged and retched again when there shouldn't have been anything left to expel. "Billy, can you tell me what you had for breakfast?"  
  
"Nothing," came the weak reply.  
  
Jules looked surprised. "You didn't have breakfast?"  
  
"He woke up late and there wasn't any time to get any before the bus came," Debra explained quickly when Dr. Keating's eyes went to her with the question.   
  
Letting the question go, Jules smiled at Billy and smoothed back a strand of soft hair. "Can you tell me what you ate for lunch?"  
  
"Nothing," came the reply again.  
  
"You didn't have lunch either?"  
  
"Sick," he managed to get out before another bout of nausea hit him.   
  
"Debra," Jules asked, "What did Billy have for dinner?"  
  
"I don't know," Debra replied, her eyes shifting a little nervously. This was becoming more serious than she thought. "I work at night. My mother usually feeds Billy when I'm not there."  
  
Feeling exasperated, Jules turned to the boy again. "Billy? What did your grandmother give you for dinner?"  
  
Billy blinked up at him groggily, his exhaustion beginning to show. "Pizza. French fries. Ice cream."  
  
Slingerland frowned as he leaned in to whisper in Dr. Keating's ears, "Nice balance meal they feed the poor kid."  
  
A knock on the door and a manila folder was thrust through the door. Jules grabbed it and went to the side counter to flip through the contents with a quick assessing eye. Billy had never been one of her patients but she has always been quick to pick up stray charts for study.  
  
Slingerland came up behind her, letting the tips of his finger rest on the small of Keating's back. He felt her stiffen at the touch and experience a moment of pleasure and amusement knowing he could affect her. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered softly.  
  
Glancing at him impatiently, she hissed, "Now is not the time to be worrying about the mother's obsession with you."   
  
"I'm not doing this for her benefits," he replied, reading the chart over her shoulder. "You're tense." Gently rubbing the small of her back with his hand. He smiled when she didn't move from his touch. "Relax a bit. You're doing fine with the boy."  
  
"I'm not sure what's wrong with him," she replied worriedly, flipping the chart a little more. "She doesn't bring him in regularly. There isn't anything in here to help."  
  
"So do what you would normally do when you have a new patient come in with an ailment," he advised gently. "Admit the boy and let's keep him under close observation for a while."   
  
She sighed, "Your right."  
  
Matt smiled, glad that she didn't argue the point. Doctors were notorious for not taking advise from others. "What does your gut instinct tell you?"  
  
Jules chewed on her lip for a moment. "It's going to sound crazy to you."  
  
"Shoot."  
  
She glanced over her shoulders at the five year old, hunched over the wastebasket. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he's got a failed gull bladder. But he's too young for that kind of thing."  
  
"But that's what your instincts are telling you?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah," she whispered back with a shake of her head. "He'd have to be eating greasy fast foods and sodas three meals a day since the day he was born to have that kind of damage though."  
  
"If that's what you're gut is telling you, that go with it. Don't doubt yourself, Jules."  
  
Dr. Keating grinned at him. "When did you become my champion?"  
  
"When I realized what a good sport you really are," he replied with the same fond smile.  
  
"Dr. Keating?" Clare's head opened through the doorway. Slingeland's hand dropped away from her quickly but not fast enough to have been missed by the eagle eyes of Clare.   
  
Aggravated, Matt frowned at her as he stepped away from Jules. "Don't you know to knock, Clare?"  
  
"Sorry," Clare replied though clearly her grin said otherwise. "Dr. Keating, your 2:45 is here."  
  
Jules slapped her forehead with her palm, "Oh man, tell Diane to push all my appointments back by fifteen. I'll be right up." She turned to Matt before Clare had fully withdrawn from the room. "Can you admit him and get some blood works started?"  
  
Slingerland nodded his head with a smile for her before taking Billy's chart. He knew that with Billy squeezing in, she was going to be overbooked for the rest of the day. "I'm at your command."  
  
"Thanks," she said quietly as she turned to the slightly green Billy. "Billy, Dr. Slingerland is going to check you into the hospital. We're going to do some tests on you to find out what's causing you to be so sick, okay?"  
  
Debra looked alarmed. "Wait a minute now, you saying that he has to stay?"  
  
"I'm afraid so," Jules replied calmly in her most professional tone. "Billy is suffering some acute abdominal pains that seems to be localized but I can't be sure of that until we do some more tests. In the meantime, it would be safer to keep him here so that we can monitor him and get him hydrated again."   
  
"How much is this going to cost me?" Debra asked.  
  
Jules counted to ten in her mind before she gave into the temptation to deck the woman. Matt must have sense the impending danger as he grabbed Jules by the arm and led her outside. "I'll be back," he called over her shoulder as he pushed Jules out ahead of him. "Don't do it."  
  
"I'm going to kill her," she hissed before taking a deep breath.   
  
"Just let me handle this," Slingerland said reassuringly as he continued to push her down the hall, away from where she could cause a scandal by doing some major damage to Debra. "You go do your rounds."  
  
She glared at him. "I better see Billy's name on the admitting charts soon, Matt. Or I'm calling DCFS."   
  
"Don't worry," he said, giving her a gentle push. "I won't let Billy leave the hospital. I promise."  
  
"I'm counting on you," she said as she reluctantly made her way toward the elevators just as three nurses passed them on their way to the cafeteria for their break.   
  
"I won't let you down," he replied before turning about and hightailing it back to the room to make sure Debra doesn't make a liar out of him.  
  
With the two doctors headed in opposite directions and intent on getting to their destinations, neither of them heard the excited whispers that followed.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"You called for a consult?"   
  
Slingerland looked up from the notations he had been making to watch Dr. Nicholas Kokoris approach him. To put it mildly, the Greek doctor has looked better. The white lab coats no longer resembling anything close to white. His green scrubs were wrinkled and liberally sprinkled with brown spots. And the man looked to be in need of twenty straight hours of sleep. "What happened to you?"  
  
"No one warned me that taking the power shift in the emergency room was going to be like being back in Bosnia's war camps," came the disgruntled replied as he rubbed his eyes and frowned at the pile of charts under his arms. "Why do American keep guns in their homes yet fail to teach their children the proper usage of one?"  
  
Shrugging, "I'm still trying to figure out why they limit the drinking age to 21 when it is obviously not going to happen. Causes more abuse in alcohol if you ask me." He closed the chart in his hand. "To go back to your first question, yes, I did call a surgical consult though I may be premature on this one."  
  
"What do we have?" he asked, blinking some of the exhaustion from his eyes.  
  
"Five year old admitted with stomach problems. Has been vomiting non stop since noon today."  
  
Glancing at his watch, Kakoris frowned. "It's been six hours then. Why have you just called me?"  
  
"Because I can't be completely sure," Matt answered as he handed him the chart. "This is technically Dr. Keating's patient, I admitted him cause I brought the patient to her. She's been in and out all day, full caseload today and now this. She suspects gall bladder."  
  
"Too young," Nick murmured as he looked over the lab results. "Whites are up. Did you do a sonogram?"  
  
"Non conclusive, he's too small and his liver is in the way," rubbing his face, he sighed and looked through the glass wall to the patient's room. "Jules will be down in the moment to consult with you on this. Watch out for the mother."  
  
"What?" came the question.   
  
"Dr. Kakoris," Jules called out as she made her way down the hall at something near a dead run. "Wait here, I'll be right back," she hollered as she ran pass them and into the stairwell.   
  
"What was that?" Nick asked staring after her as the door shut hind her flying lab coat.   
  
Matt frowned concerned over the near frantic look on Dr. Keating's face as she sailed by. "Not a clue." Shaking his head, "Want to meet the patient?"  
  
"Sure," Nick replied, still looking through the numerous lab works. "What is his name?"  
  
"Billy Jankins."   
  
Entering the room where Debra was holding a bottle of water while Billy was sitting with his head still facing a waste basket, Nick was surprised to be greeted by a less than distort mother. "Mrs. Jankins, I'm Dr. Kakoris, the resident surgeon."   
  
"It's Miss Jankins," Debra corrected as she stood to shake the doctor's hand. "How's my Billy?"  
  
"Very ill," he replied, slanting questioning look at Slingerland whose only reply was an I-warned-you look. "Has Billy had stomach ailments lately? Nausea, vomiting, stomachs, fever?"  
  
"No, nothing like that. Billy has always been a very healthy boy," she replied, dimpling up at him. She tilted her head to include Dr. Slingerland in her enchanting smile. "Dr. Slingerland has been very good to us."  
  
Nick bit the inside of his cheek. "I'm sure he has."   
  
Matt flushed for no apparently reason.  
  
"Billy," Nick said sitting on the bed. "I'm Dr. Kakoris. May I exam you?"  
  
Billy lifted his head for moment, his eyes encircled with a dark ring. "Where's Dr. Jules?"  
  
"Dr. Jules?" Nick looked at Slingerland.  
  
Matt smiled, "He means Dr. Jules Keating."  
  
"Oh," realizing for the first time that he hadn't known the pediatrician's name. "Dr. Keating is a bit busy at the moment. But she'll be right back. She asked me to take a look at you and see how you are doing."  
  
Nodding his sober little head, Billy allowed Kakoris to shift the wastebasket to the side and began to gently probe his stomach. "Dr. Keating says that you've been feeling some bad tummy aches. Can you tell me where it hurts?"  
  
"OWW....."  
  
"Okay," Kakoris murmured as he shifted his hand away from the slightly extended area. "I guess that part hurts."  
  
Billy sniffed and nodded his head before grabbing the trashcan again and gagging.   
  
"Sorry," Keating said breathily as she came into the room in a hurry. She was panting for breath and looked less than composed. "A little incident in neonatal."   
  
"What happened?" Slingerland asked, coming to her, his concern obvious by the trouble look on his face.  
  
She gave a weak smile and nudged him aside, away from the medical bed and the curious ears of the mother. "There was a pink alert."  
  
Matt's eye went wide. "You're kidding."  
  
"No, they caught him in the parking lot just as he was putting the baby in the trunk of a car," she took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart.   
  
He rubbed her back with his hand, noting that she was too distracted to be aware of the gesture. She was tense and upset, things like this always got to her. "Are you all right?"  
  
"I hate it when that happens. Why do these people think that taking a child from the hospital is the right thing to do? There are always other ways," she whispered back. Her shook her head to clear her thoughts. Another patient needed her now, "Kakoris find anything?"  
  
"Only that he may agree with you," Nick answered as he came up behind the couple. He had not been the only observing the charmingly intimate conversation. Debra looked ready to blow a gasket. It had surprised Nick to no end to note the unconscious gestures between the two. "You may be right, the gall bladder appears to be the problem."  
  
"Damn," she muttered, his frustration obvious.   
  
Matt frowned as he looked over at the ill Billy. "Jules, at least you caught it. If it had erupted..."  
  
"He's so young though," she murmured.   
  
Nick nodded his agreement. "This type of thing doesn't usually start so early but there has been cases of it. We need to remove it as soon as possible. He's stomach has already begun to extend. A sure sign of infection."   
  
"I like to scrub in if you don't mind," she asked, tilting her head to offer Billy a reassuring smile.   
  
"Not at all, I think I may need your expertise on this one," Kakoris replied, his eyes shifting from Keating to Slingerland. "Shall I have the nurses prepare a consent form?"  
  
"Yeah," she nodded. "Matt, you want in?"  
  
"No, I'll observe."  
  
"Keep the mother calm," Kakoris advised with a slight shifting of his eyes. Debra looked more like a put upon babysitter than a worried mother. "Then again...."  
  
"Noticed that did you?" Slingerland muttered with a roll of his eyes with his back to Debra. "I doubt she'd want to observe. And I sure the hell don't want to be stuck in a room with her."  
  
"Keep it down," Jules hissed as she made her way toward the bed just as Billy spewed green liquid from his mouth. "Oh my god," she rushed to the boy's bedside just as he was about to pass out. "Kakoris, we're going to need to go in on an emergency."  
  
Nick was already on the phone as Matt reached Jules's side to help her ease the boy back and onto his side. They did not want the kid to choke to death on his own vomit. "OR 3 is open now."  
  
"Let's get him prepped," Jules called out as Matt and Nick unlock the bed. "Debra, follow us. We're going to need you to sign some stuff."   
  
"Okay," came the cool as cucumber reply.  
  
Jules looked up at Matt, her irritation almost palpable. "Remind me again why we let people like her have small children?"  
  
Matt grinned in return. "As you Americans say, free country, love. It's a free country."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bite me."  
  
Nick watched the light interplay with interest and amusement. This was certainly something new.   
  
TCB.....  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Okay, for those of you that may have been slightly offended by the way I portrayed Debra, I wanted there to be no misunderstanding that I would actually there are mothers out there like that. I like to believe that all parents love and adore their children to the very core of their being. I merely created a rather unlikable character to facilitate the story. No flames please. 


	6. Chapter 6

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's fact it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: The hospital rumor mill get hold of a hush-hush situation.   
  
Note: Okay, if anyone knows any background stories to Keating's and Slingerland's respective families, now would be a good time to ignore them all completely. Go along with what I make up for now, okay? Thanks. Your cooperation would make this a much easier reading. Enjoy.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 6  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Nick opened the locker and took a deep cleansing breath to relieve some of the unbearable tension between his shoulders. The hair-raising two and half hours in the operating room working on Billy Jankins, who was so small and compact that he barely had any room to maneuver, was not how he imagined spending his Friday evening. The only good news to be had was the boy made it out of surgery in relatively good condition. Had they been an hour late, the gall bladder would have burst and created some serious ramifications. Thank God for Dr. Keatings quick and accurate assessment.   
  
"You look like you've had better days."  
  
The voice alone made everything look brighter. Turning, he watched as Dr. Rae Brennan leaned against the locker and crossed her arms. Her eyes were teasing and bright. "Good evening, Rae, what are you still doing here?"  
  
"I had a patient that is going through some rough chemo. I stuck around to make sure she was okay." Her eyes took in his messy clothes and hair. "You look like hell."  
  
"I feel it too," he replied with a smile for her. "Had dinner yet?"  
  
"Nick," came the warning tone.  
  
"It's just a simple question." It lightened his heart to see that he still unruffled her with something as simple as dinner.   
  
She shook her head at him. "Not when it come to you."  
  
"How is that?" he purposely asked leaning in a little too close for her comfort.  
  
As predicted, she backed off quickly. "You're incorrigible."  
  
"But definitely lovable," he tossed back just as the doctor's lounge door opened to allow Dr. Letty Jordan in.   
  
"Dr. Kakoris," Letty said with a bit of surprise. Glancing down at her watch, she raised her head to frown at him. "You're shift ended at six. What are you still doing here?"  
  
"Finishing up a case that came to me at the last moment," he explained tossing in a towel that needed to be washed but he was simply too tired to take care of it at the moment. "By the way, thanks for suckering me into taking the power shift, Dr. Jordan. How can I ever thank you?"  
  
Letty Jordan chuckled unabashedly. "Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something. But really, what are you doing here? The hospital frowns on doctors pulling over time unnecessarily, especially doctors that work more than 36 hour shifts."  
  
Nick fought the urge to groan as he retrieved his gym bag from the bottom of the locker. "Dr. Keating had an emergency patient with a failed gall bladder. We just finished the operations ten minutes ago."   
  
"One of Jules's?" Rae asked, discreetly putting a little more distance between herself and the Greek doctor. "A failed gall bladder?"  
  
"Yeah, that's what Slingerland and I thought. Which reminds me," turning to look at the two women. "What is going on between Slingerland and Keating?"  
  
Letty and Rae traded carefully guarded glances. "What do you mean?"   
  
With the observant eyes of a careful surgeon, he watched the two avoid each other's eyes. Women, specially the good ones, have this undeniable lack of ability to lie with a straight face. "What do you two ladies know that I don't about those two?"  
  
Always one to face her challenges, Letty lifted her chin. "You first."  
  
"Okay," Nick tossed his surgical gown into the laundry basket. "They held a rather intimate conversation in a patient's room while I was there. The two banter quite naturally. And Slingerland has suddenly developed a fondness of touching her quite a bit." Shutting the locker with a slam, he leaned against it. "Your turn."  
  
"Rumor around is putting the two of them together." Diplomacy was always a good trait to have, or at least that's what Letty mother use to tell her.   
  
"They're sleeping together?" Nick asked with some disbelief.   
  
"No one said that," Rae put in quickly.   
  
"But you suspect," Nick concluded.  
  
Dr. Jordan shrugged. "There's a lot of things being said."  
  
"Any proof?" Nick asked. "Don't get me wrong, it's none of my business what my colleagues do after hours. But I just don't see Slingerland and Keating. He's too... James Bond British and she's too... Little Orphan Annie good."   
  
The two doctors burst out laughing. "Nick, I think you're watching too many movies."  
  
"I'm just saying..."  
  
"We know, we know," Letty waved it away. "Don't you think that's what we thought? Until that night."  
  
"What night?" Nick asked his curiosity seriously peaked now.   
  
Rae made a face that said that she was indulging this. "We saw them together at the Blue Note couple of nights ago."  
  
"On a date?"  
  
Letty nodded her head. "Looks like. Pretty dressy too."  
  
Nick nodded his head, more than a little amused by the whole thing. "So Slingerland and Keating... huh?"  
  
"Slingerland better watch himself cause I so do not want to...." Letty began just as the doctor himself walked through the door. "Speaking of the devil..." She turned to the tired doctor. "What are you still doing here?"   
  
"Finishing up," Slingerland said going to his locker. "I've had a rough day." Pulling the locker open, he turned to Kakoris. "Nice job on Billy, by the way."   
  
"Dr. Keating did most of the work there," Nick gave credit where credit was due. And though Jules Keating had told him that it's been some time since she's done an operation on anyone, she handled herself as he expected: with perfection. "She's got quite a way with kids."  
  
"Yes she does," Matt said with a lighting quick smile. The girl had managed to calm Billy under ten seconds when the boy work up right after surgery to find a tube up his nose and an ugly hole on his tummy. "Thank goodness for our little Jules."  
  
The three docs exchanged looks behind Slingerland's back as he continued to remove this lab coat and prepare to go home.   
  
"Didn't know you did pediatrics?" Nick said as he continued to watch the man.  
  
"I don't," Matt replied, tiredly. "But Billy's mother is my patient and I asked Jules to help out with Billy and..." he shook his head. It was too embarrassing to tell them about his little problem with Billy's mother. "I figured that since I brought her the problem, the least I can do is stick it out with her." He tuned around as he shrugged on his blazer. "Speaking of which, have you seen her since the operation?"  
  
"No," Nick replied while Rae and Letty shook their heads.   
  
"Hum..." he frowned and turned back to his locker just as the lounge door swung open again and Dr. Keating stumbled in.  
  
Barely catching herself on the door, Keating took a moment to steady herself. "I'm okay," she announced to the room in general when she was sure the chances of complete humiliation by falling flat on her face was over.   
  
"Are you sure?" Rae asked as she took a step forward to help her obviously exhausted friend.  
  
"Yeah," she held up a hand to forestall any help from any department. "Just a little tired right now. Got here at six to catch up on paperwork and haven't stopped since. With the pink alert and then Billy Jankins, I'm ready to drop dead." Shrugging off her lab coat, she suppressed a groan as all the muscles on her back screamed in protest.   
  
"Jules, you look terrible," Slingerland observed with a frown.  
  
Throwing him a drop-dead glare, "Thanks, Matt. That's all I needed to hear right now." Hanging the uniformed lab coat inside her locker, she pulled out her jacket and rolled her neck. "Hey, anyone have the time?"  
  
"I'm serious, Dr. Keating. You need to take better care of yourself," Matt said reaching over and taking her jacket from the bench where she had sat it. Holding it up for her, he helped her slipped her tired arms into the warmth. "Won't do your patients any good if you end up passing out in the operating room."  
  
"Yes, mother," she replied with grin.  
  
"Smart ass."   
  
"Takes one to know one," she fired back and looked at Letty, whom she knew always has a watch on. "Time?"  
  
"Five minutes to nine," Letty replied, still more than a little riveted by the ease in which the two interacted. Watching them from afar dancing was one thing, as intimate as some of the gestures were, watching them together up close and personal was quite another.   
  
"Shit!" Jules slammed her locker shut then cursed again when she realized that her purse was still inside.   
  
"What's wrong?" Nick asked as the others stared while Matt carefully removed Jules's frustrated hands from the un-budging locker and attempted to open it for her.   
  
"I took the trolley here this morning cause I wasn't awake enough to drive when I got in. The last trolley leaves exactly at nine back toward my place, if I don't get there in the next three minutes, I'm going to miss it." The exhaustion was making her irritable and miserable, plus she felt at the edge of tears. This was just not her day.   
  
Letty frowned. "I'll get someone to find you a taxi."  
  
"Too dangerous this time of night," Rae said quietly.   
  
"I hate taxis," Jules groaned as Matt finally got her locker to open again. She was definitely going to be late for the trolley, which means that she's got no choice but to take a taxi home.  
  
Rae felt bad for her friend. The girl really did look like she's been hell and back today. "How about if..."  
  
"Relax, relax, you're too tense," Matt said interrupted quietly, rubbing her gently on the small of her back as he retrieve her purse from the bottom of the locker for her. "I've got my car parked downstairs. Let me take you home." She stared blankly at him for a moment, her big green eyes sad and wretched. "Come on now," reaching over to shut his own locker and pick up his briefcase. "Saved a life today. Did a very good job of it too. You deserve the comfort of a nice easy ride home rather than having to take a bouncing trolley."   
  
Rae stared in silence. This was certainly a newer and gentler side of Slingerland she's never seen before.   
  
Dr. Keating tilted her head to look at his sympathetic face. She knew she was going to miss the trolley and taking taxis always gave her the creeps. Plus she hadn't had dinner yet so her stomach was achingly empty. A nice quick way to get home would be really nice. "You sure it won't be too much trouble?"  
  
"No trouble at all," maneuvering her toward the door with one hand still at her back. "It's on the way home. Besides, what are friends for?" He glanced back over his shoulder, "Nite, ladies, Dr. Kakoris. Have a pleasant evening."  
  
Turning, Jules gave them a weak smile. "Bye, see you all on Monday barring any emergencies."   
  
They left comfortably together while the three doctors still left in the Doctors' Lounge stared after them. The door closed just as Slingerland asked, "Did you by any chance had any dinner yet?"  
  
For a full minute after the door swung close, there was silence. Letty turned to the others, "Since Slingerland lives on the west side and Jules lives on the east, how is his taking her home on the way?"  
  
Rae shook her head, bemused by the whole thing. "You don't think that whole thing was for our benefits, do you?"  
  
Nick arched his brows. "You mean that 'what are friends for' thing?" He nodded his head. "Yeah, I'd say so if they were trying to keep the relationship under wraps."  
  
Letty shook her head. "Weird."   
  
Nodding her head, Rae stared at the closed door. "This just keeps getting more interesting by the day."   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"You didn't have to walk me all the way in you know," struggling with the keys for a moment. Three dead bolts may be over doing it a bit but her mother had insisted upon it when she came out to visit one summer. Why she actually used all three was something of a mystery to her at the moment.   
  
"Mother taught me to be a gentleman. And a gentleman always walks a lady to her door." He glanced at her limp hands trying to maneuver what seemed like ten pounds worth of keys. "Any days now, Jules."  
  
"I'm trying, I'm trying," she muttered before dropping the large ring of silver keys. "Oh damn."  
  
"Here, let me," taking the keys from her cold-numb fingers. "Where are your gloves, girl? Your fingers are near frozen." And dropped the keys on the ground again. "Oh bloody hell."  
  
Jules laughed, "And you're doing so much better than me," then bumped head with one another as they both bent to retrieve that fallen object. "Stop, stop, stop, this is becoming a horrible scene from an comedy film."   
  
"Stand still," taking hold of her elbow as he bent to retrieve the keys. "Oh lord, why don't you live in a neighborhood that doesn't require you to put ten dead bolts on your door."  
  
"There's only three and I like it here," as the door finally opened for them. "Oh god, I hope I turned on the heat."  
  
"If you didn't, you better do so now," dropping her keys onto the first flat surface he could find and rubbed his tired face with his gloved hand. Dinner had been a simple Japanese meal lightly accompanied by delightful conversations of nothingness: a lovely manner to unwind after a long day. If only he didn't have the forty-five drive back in the opposite direction to get home. "What time is it?" One of these days, he will have to get that bloody watch fixed. In fact, tomorrow would be a good time to do so.  
  
Jules checked the thermostat and was glad to find that it had been turned on. Winters in San Francisco seem to be getting chiller and chiller with each passing year. Coming back to the living room, she glanced the clock on the wall and stared aghast. "Holy cow, it's almost 11:30."   
  
"You jest," Matt said as he turned his head and stared at the clock. "You jest not." With a groan, he collapsed on the red sofa that sat cheerfully in the living room. "Oh lord, no wonder I feel like the dead."  
  
"You look it too," she laughed as she slipped her shoes off and pattered around in her stockings. "You want some coffee before you leave? You look like you could use some." Opening a cupboard stocked with various instruments of death-by-caffeine. "My mom sent me some great vanilla bean coffee last week. Her only indulgence in the world."   
  
Slingerland laughed tiredly. The six o'clock work out session at the 24-hour gym had been such a good idea only that morning. "Coffee would be much appreciated." He turned to watch her grind coffee beans in a little automatic grinder that cheerfully buzzed while sending a sweet whiff of delight through the air. "My mother's only indulgence is jewelry, anything shiny set in white gold. Father pays a pretty penny for years of travels."   
  
Frowning, Jules dumped the grindings into the coffee maker. "Sounds like a lovely way to conduct a marriage."  
  
"It works for them both. Father has his work and mother has her freedom," he smirked with regret. "Lord save me from that kind of life and marriage."  
  
"Me too," she replied pouring water into the coffee maker and setting it to start. Coming around the breakfast counter, she picked up a small dish of sweets she generally keeps there for her regular morning sugar rushes. "Have one, you look ready to fall asleep right there."  
  
"Thanks," picked up the plastic wrapped chocolate. "You on tomorrow?"  
  
"No," sitting down by him. "But I'll probably go in and check on Billy. You?"  
  
"Likewise."   
  
There was a comfortable silence as the coffee brewed, sending a wonderful aroma about the room. When the bubbling sound of the coffee maker finally ceased, Jules got up and went to it. "Do you take yours with cream and sugar?" When no reply came, she glanced up from her search for decent mugs that didn't have chips in them. For some reason, she couldn't seem to figure out to wash the darn things without chipping them. "Matt?"  
  
"What?" startling awake at the sound of his name.  
  
She grinned at him through the opening of the counter. "Sleepy?"  
  
"Exhausted," he replied with a return smile. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"  
  
"Cream? Sugar?"  
  
"Sugar please, two spoons. No cream."  
  
"Coming up," she said making the coffee and adding the necessary ingredients to dilute the bitter taste of the caffeine potent nectar. Coming around the counter again, she felt a wave of sympathy for the fatigue on his face.   
  
It was perhaps that first time that she realized that Dr. Slingerland cared a great deal more about his patients that she gave him credit for. He had put himself well beyond the call of duty today. Once Billy had been transferred to her, he could have simply stepped away from the case and left it. But he kept in pace every step of the way, including the strict observation of the long surgery. That kind of dedication was not always seen, even in the healing arts. "Here."  
  
"Thank you," taking the mug painted with pink cats and bunnies but not a chip in sight.   
  
"You sure you're okay?" worried over his late of concentration. Driving half a sleep is as dangerous as driving drunk. And a good friend never allows another to drink and drive. It would only be logical to apply the same principle to exhaustion.   
  
"Fine, fine. Just tired, I'll wake up in a moment," bringing the cup to his lip hoping the scolding hot coffee can clear up some of his senses.   
  
"Matt," taking the mug away just before his lips touched the rim. "You want to stay the night?"  
  
The fatigue lifted for a moment as he raised an inquiring brow at her.  
  
"I didn't meant it like that!" whacking him on the arm. Laughing, she set the coffee mug down. "Look, I don't have a guest room and I'm certainly not going to share my bed with you..."  
  
"You might like it," he couldn't help interjecting.  
  
"But...." Throwing him a behave-yourself look. "This sofa folds out into a very comfortable, very warm, very spacious full size bed if you are interested." She patted his arm and smile at him. "Thank you for bringing me home when I was too hungry and too tired to think clearly. I don't want you getting into any car accidents because you are too worn-out after being a nice guy to drive safely back to wherever it is you live."  
  
For a moment he meant to say no to her generous offer but thought better of it. He was barely functioning now and no matter how much caffeine he could load into his body within the next half hour, there was no way it'll last him the hour it will probably take on a Friday night to get back to his place. "Thank you Jules, I think it would be safer for myself and the people of the streets if I were to spend the night."  
  
"Okay," she smiled and got up with the coffee mug in hand. "You won't be needing this then."  
  
He snatched it back with more energy than he thought was possibly left in him. "No need to let good coffee go to waste."  
  
Laughing, Jules headed for the closet. "I'll get you some bedding."  
  
Matt grinned after taking a wonderfully sweet mouthful of elixir and sighed. Feeling invigorated after having eased the worries of driving home in a half conscious state, he turned his head and watched Jules for a moment. "You sure about not sharing that bed?"  
  
The pillow hit him directly in the head.  
  
TBC...   
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Slightly contrived but hey, what the heck. 


	7. Chapter 7

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's fact it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: The hospital rumor mill get hold of a hush-hush situation.   
  
FYI: The "Teddy Bear" is one hundred years old.  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 7  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Ring, ring."  
  
The phone fumbled, crashed against the table before it was picked up. "What the bloody hell do you want?" came the muffled and irritated greeting.  
  
There was a pause. "Dr. Slingerland?"  
  
"Yes. Who is this?" turning his head so that he was no longer speaking into the pillow. Sleeping on one's stomach, while comfortable, was not the most efficient position to answer the phone.   
  
"It's Harriet Lenning."  
  
"Who?" Then came the belated recognition. "Oh lordy. Dr. Lenning, my apologies. I'm not quite awake yet."   
  
"No, no, I'm sorry. I must have dialed the wrong number," though her tone held a note of doubt. "Didn't mean to wake you."  
  
"Not a problem," though it was since he still couldn't open his sleep-swollen eyes.   
  
"Good night."  
  
"Nite," then hung up with phone with a groan of relief.   
  
Two seconds later, "Ring, ring. Ring, ring."  
  
Matt gave a pathetic groan before reaching out to pick up the phone again and flipping onto his back. "Yes?"  
  
There was a pause. "Dr. Slingerland?"  
  
"Dr. Lenning, what can I do for you?" he replied with a sigh giving a Herculean attempt to open his eyes then stared at the unfamiliar blue lamp by his bedside. There were beaded fringes on the lampshade. Odd, he couldn't quite remember when or why he would purchase a map with beaded fringes on the lampshade.   
  
"I'm sorry again, I thought I was dialing Dr. Keating number."  
  
"Dr. Keating?" he came the slightly confused question before it hit him like a ton a brick. "Oh. Oh..." He felt ten times the fool and looked around the shadow apartment for some divine intervention.   
  
"I'm sorry I keep waking you. I don't know why I keep dialing the wrong..."  
  
"No, no... I should be apologizing." He just knew this was going to be bad. Oh god, when the gossip mill gets their hands on this one.... Then again, Harriet Lenning wasn't known to be a gossip. "You didn't dial the wrong number."   
  
Another long heavy pause, "I see," in that wise knowing tone.  
  
"No, no, no, no, no..." he clutched the phone so tight that he was surprised that plastic handle didn't crack under the pressure. Oh Lord, what a bloody mess! Jules is going to kill him for this one. "It's not what you think!"  
  
"Oh?"   
  
A hard surface on which to bang his head against would be nice right about now. "Listen, there is a logical and very innocent explanation for all this."  
  
"Really?" came that same knowing tone that made Slingerland cringed with some unexplained reason. Oh yes, it was probably because it was similar to the tone his mother used when she knew he was fibbing. But in this case, he really wasn't.  
  
"Yes, and I would be more than happy to relate it to you when my brain functions are at full capacity," Matt said shaking his head to clear more of the cobwebs of sleep. Somehow, anything nearing his truthful version of the story is not likely to believe him. He and Jules have simply have to come up with a better one... when he tells her. Oh lord, he could already see the outrage on her face. "Was there some particular reason you were looking for Jul...er...Dr. Keating?"  
  
There was another pause. "I need her here at the hospital. I've got a mother at 28 weeks coming in with strong contractions. She arrived from Chicago this morning...or yesterday morning rather, starting having contractions last night but waited until about an hour ago to come in. I was just paged."  
  
"Right," swinging his leg around and glancing down at the unfamiliar sweat pants he was wearing before remembering it had been a pair of Jules's brother's, left behind during a visit. "Isn't there anyone else at the neonatal unit? I mean, she's awfully tired."   
  
"Is she?" came the question.  
  
He winced at how that may have sounded coming from him. "I meant that she went to sleep rather late and..." Oh, he was just making it worse now. "Why don't I just wake her up and we'll be there as soon as... I mean, *she* will be there as soon as humanly possible."   
  
"All right. Good night, Dr. Slingerland." He could almost see the knowing smile on the good doctor's face.   
  
With nothing more he could say to make the situation any better, "Good night, Dr. Lenning." And hung up the phone with a resounding click.   
  
There was a brief moment that he was tempted to just fall back asleep and pretend this never happened. But then, there was a life at state and he knew that Jules would kill him if she found out about it. With a sigh from way down deep, he got up and prayed that Dr. Keating won't wake up screaming when she finds him there.  
  
The door had a big felt teddy bear on it with the word "Jules" stitched on it in blocky letters. It was rather sweetly endearing in a manner. Opening the door, the first impression of Dr. Keating's bedroom was that it had an awful lot of stuff animals. Or more precisely, there was an awful lot of teddy bears. They were everywhere, in every size, shape, color and form. There was even one twice the size of Dr. Slingerland in one corner. Had it not been for the large dresser and queen size bed in the middle of the room, Matt would have sworn he stepped into a teddy bear museum. Even the little nightlight by the door was in the shape of a bear.   
  
Curled in the middle of the bed was a sleeping Dr. Keating. Like Tatania in the forest, her pixie sweet face had the peace and happiness that inspired men to poetry. Women, Slingerland was sure, were the most beautiful when completely unconscious of themselves. And it certainly applied beautifully here.   
  
While he loathed waking her after the harrowing day she had, he knew the consequences should he not. Settling himself on the bed, he reached over and gave her bared shoulder a gentle shake. "Jules?"  
  
Moaning as she shifted in her sleep, green eyes fluttered for a moment before settling on the voice that had awoke her from slumber. Licking her lips for moisture, she stared at him. For a moment, confusion clouded her face. "Matt?"  
  
"Yeah," he smiled, feeling uncomfortably awkward at the moment. It certainly won't be the first time he's been in a woman's bedroom. But this was different from his normal course of life. "Wake up, Jules."  
  
She struggled from under the covers. Blinking at the dimness of the room. "What time is it? What are you doing in here?"  
  
Glad that her mind wasn't awake enough to become outraged by this boldness, "It's about ten after four. Dr. Lenning called. She needs you down at the hospital. They're about to deliver a seven month premie."   
  
Blinking rapidly to wake, she asked, "Why?"  
  
"Mother flew in from Chicago. Waited too long to go to the hospital," he pulled her up into a sitting position from the shoulder. Her skin was warm to the touch. And he couldn't help but glance down as the blankets fell away. He grinned at her teasingly. "Jules? You don't by chance shop at Victoria's Secrets, do you?"  
  
That got her awake nicely as she whacked him on the arm and pulled the blanket around her. The camisole, while revealing nothing, bared more than enough to give Matt a hint of what she would look like beneath. "Matt!"  
  
Getting off the bed, he looked around for a robe or something. Finding none handy, he shrugged. "Shall I start coffee for you?"  
  
Jules whimpered as she rolled onto her side and sniffed pitifully. "They don't pay me nearly enough for these kinds of days."  
  
"Come on, you know you live for excitement such as this," he rubbed her exposed shoulder with his hand and smiled down at her. It just occurred to him that she smelled rather nicely. "How about I make coffee and you wake up? I'll drive you down to the hospital on my way home. I think I've gotten enough rest now not to fall asleep behind the wheels. Especially if I get some more of your mother's delicious French Vanilla bean coffee."  
  
Turning her head, she smiled back at him. "Okay, deal."  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"And why can't we just tell them the truth?" Jules asked clutching the hot thermo mug with her hand. Her second cup of java and she was finally starting to come awake.   
  
Matt sipped the traveling mug she had kindly provided him and grimaced as the liquid scalded his tongue. "Jules, you know me. You know what people think of me and my... reputation. If I were to tell you that I was too tired to drive home after taking a female co-worker home, would you believe me?"  
  
Jules thought back to the long list of women she has heard about linked to Dr. Slingerland's name. "Okay, you've got a point there."   
  
"It's not to say that it couldn't happen, which it did last evening, but it's just hard for most to actually believe something as innocent as that." He made the turn with one hand and ran a yellow. "Why are there so many bloody cars out in the middle of the night?"  
  
"Because we live in a city where the good clubs close at 3:00 AM." She replied and leaned back in her chair. "So what do we tell them?"  
  
"As close to the truth as possible," Matt replied glancing at the clock on his dashboard. "Doubtful that Dr. Lenning talked but you never know."  
  
"Harriet will mind her own business," Jules said chewing on her lip. "But I have to tell her something plausible."  
  
"How about I fell asleep on the coach? Simple, close to the truth but not quite."  
  
She frowned at him. "So we're just going to leave out the part where I invited you to stay."  
  
"Yes," he nodded as they neared the hospital. "Trust me when I say that no one would believe you any ways. This way, they'll think you're doing a good deed."  
  
Jules shook her head. "Won't someone ask what you were doing in my apartment in the first place?"  
  
"Hopefully not. They'll probably just jump to the natural conclusion that I invited myself in." He pulled toward the emergency entrance. "Here we are."  
  
"I kind of don't feel right about this," she said gathering her stuff.  
  
"You think the baby's in danger cause of premature birth?" he asked seriously.  
  
"No, I mean letting everyone think you're the bad guy here. We didn't do anything wrong. We didn't do anything either one of us needs to be ashamed of. The truth is perfectly innocent and feasible."  
  
"But not when it comes to certain reputations," Matt concluded as she pulled the door open. "Jules trust me when I say that it's simply better to allow the rest of the hospital to think that I made a pass and let's move on with it. You say anything about your part in it and it's likely to live for ninety days."  
  
She sighed and shrugged. "I think you're wrong but whatever. I've got a premie to take care of. Thanks for the ride."   
  
"See you later!" giving her a quick wave as she closed the door to his car firmly.   
  
"Slow down!" she called after him as he took off from the emergency bay at sixty miles per hour. Shaking her head, she turned to head into the hospital. "Hi Millicent, nice night to have a baby."  
  
"Good evening Dr. Keating," Millicent greeted with wide eyes.   
  
She smiled and went in, never noticing the eyes of every nurse and attendant in the emergency reception area following her all the way to the elevators.  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Mother is five centimeter dilated and doing well. The baby on the other hand... pulse is tready and I'm afraid that we may be looking at an emergency c-section." Harriet handed the chart over and frowned at the new reports. "Oxygen levels are down."  
  
"If we can do natural birth, let's do it. The baby is not cook ripe yet and I don't want to chance a c-section to make it worse," Jules murmured as she studied the charts. "Let's wait, keep the heart monitor on the baby and if it dips again, we're going in."  
  
"Agreed," Harriet nodded and removed her glasses. "I've already talked to Dad. We have consent to do emergency c-section if necessary."   
  
"Always one step ahead of me," she grinned and closed the clip.   
  
"Now tell me why Slingerland was in your apartment at three in the morning," she said as he looped one arm around her arm and guided her into her office.  
  
Jules groaned. "Harriet!"  
  
"Jules, I'm worried. If I weren't I wouldn't have asked." She looked at the young doctor with her calming blue eyes. "I know you are a grown woman and more than capable of taking care of yourself. But I'm your friend."  
  
"It's nothing," she sighed. For a moment, she almost told her the story she and Matt had agreed tentatively upon. But this was Harriet Lenning. "Dr. Slingerland brought me a patient yesterday that had to go into emergency surgery. Threw my schedule all out of whack. By the time I was able to leave, the last trolley had already left. Slingerland offered to take me home and on the way, we got some dinner. He brought me back to my apartment and was too exhausted to drive safely home. I offered the coach and he spent the night. When you call, he instinctively picked up the phone. Nothing to it at all."   
  
"Nothing to it," Harriet repeated as she settled behind her desk. Her blue eyes twinkled with amusement. "And you invited him to stay the night."  
  
"On the couch," she emphasized.  
  
"Right, on the coach," she nodded and smiled gently. "It was very nice of him to drive you home and very nice of you to let him stay."   
  
A since of impending doom seemed to hit her for a moment. "Harriet?"  
  
"Yes, dear?" mild curiosity in her face.  
  
"You do believe me, don't you?" But she could already see the doubt in her friend's eyes. "Oh god, you don't, do you?" If Harriet, who has known her since lord knows when, didn't believe her, she could only imagine what the rest of the hospital was going to say.   
  
"That's not true," Harriet said reassuringly. "Jules, I trust you. You are a very good doctor and a very good person. You are sweet, generous, and very strong willed when you want to be but a little naïve at times. And well... Dr. Slingerland has quite a reputation with the ladies."   
  
"Matt's a friend."  
  
"Who help to inseminate your eggs," Dr. Lenning pointed out.   
  
Jules groaned and slouched in her seat. "That would have to come back and haunt me now, won't it?" Okay, so maybe Slingerland was right about the whole not telling the truth thing. "Harriet..."  
  
"I haven't said a word and I'm not going to," she assured her with a quick glance at the clock. "And it's time we get back to..."  
  
The quick knock on the door did not wait for an answer before Susan's head popped in the room. "BP is down and baby monitor reads the heart at two hundred."   
  
Keating and Lenning both scrambled out of their seats. "The baby is in distress. Prep the mom for emergency c-section and get neonatal to prepare incubator and revival kit. Page the attending surgeon."   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Good morning Billy," Dr. Slingerland greeted the gleeful five year old that was happily consuming red cubes of gelatin at the moment. "How is our favorite patient this morning?"  
  
"Good," came the soft reply as he popped another piece of his breakfast into his mouth. "I've got scar, like Frankenstein."   
  
"That's right, kiddo!" he grinned as he ruffled the boy's soft baby hair. "Did you sleep okay last night?"  
  
"Yes," he nodded his head. "Dr. Jules says that I can leave in another day if I'm good."   
  
Yes, of course she would have come check up on Billy. Jules was nothing if not dedicated to her patients. "Well, then you best behave yourself young man, won't want to make a liar out of the doctor now. When did Dr. Keating come see you?"   
  
"She gave me breakfast," he said soberly. "She was sad. Says she needs cheering up so she came to see me." He grinned proudly at the doctor with the funny accent. "I made her smile."   
  
"She was sad?" Slingerland frown with concern. "And you made her smile. Good for you. We gentlemen must do our best to keep the ladies happy." He watched the sweet child continue to finish his breakfast of oatmeal, juice and gelatin. "Where is your mum?"  
  
"Mommy called and said she will come to see me later," Billy explained, feeling quite grown up in his role as the information distributor.   
  
"Well good," though silently he damned Debra for leaving her child in the hospital by himself. "I have to go talk to some doctors now. Will you be all right alone, Billy?"  
  
Pointing to the coloring books and a bucket of crayons by his bed side, Billy nodded his head.  
  
"From Dr. Keating?"  
  
"She will bring me robots later."  
  
With a laugh, Slingerland patted the boy's head and headed out. The moment he left the room, his smile dropped into a frown. "Gina," coming to the nurse's station and reading the name tag off the petite brunette's tag. "Where is Dr. Keating?"  
  
Brown eyes blinked at him for a moment before startling to action. "She just left. I think she went to her office to get her purse."  
  
Finding it odd that the woman appear to be looking at him as if he's grown a second head, Slingerland decided that finding out what happened to cause Dr. Keating's upset was more important than finding out what's been effecting the nursing staff lately. Something was definitely up.   
  
When the knock on Dr. Keating's door went unanswered several times, Matt found that he didn't believe it for a second. Pushing open the door, he was not surprised to find Jules curled up in the corner on top the giant serpent that he has yet to figure out where she could have gotten it. She had hold of a pale blue bear with a pink nose whose head was tucked firmly under her chin. Over all, she looked like a sulking child but he knew it was more. "Good morning, Dr. Keating."  
  
She glared at him with rabbit eyes. "When someone doesn't answer the door it usually means they don't want to be disturbed."   
  
"Yes but I'm a big believer in barging in where one's not wanted when it is obvious that a friend is hurting badly," he shut the door firmly behind him and came across the room to stare down at her for a moment. She looked helplessly sad. Settling himself next to her, "The premie?" She turned her face and refused to answer. "Come on. You'd feel better if you share."  
  
"I already shared with Harriet and it didn't help," came the sullen reply and a sniffle.   
  
Looking around, he found a box of tissues with a panda bear cover on it. Holding the bear out to her, he watched as she grabbed two tissues and turned away again, giving him her back. "Yes, but I'm not Harriet." He turned his body to try to look at her face, but she kept avoiding him. "And I'm much more charming."  
  
She hit him with the teddy bear. "Says you," but it elicited a watery smile from her as she turned and laid back on the serpent.   
  
Slingerland shifted down to his side and propped himself up with on his elbow. "The baby?"  
  
Jules stared at the ceiling, her face sad and pensive. "Three and a half minutes without oxygen. Vegetable on birth."   
  
He hated it when the young ones suffer. "Umbilical cord?"   
  
"Around the neck...twice."   
  
"How did that...Nevermind." Slipping an arm under her shoulder, he pulled her up against him, waiting until her stiff posture relaxed next to him. "We're not miracle workers, Jules. We're doctors. We do what we can for our patients and no one can ask more from us."  
  
There was a moment of silence before her head dropped rolled onto his shoulder, allowing him to cradle her, her heart and head too heavy. "It was a baby, Matt. One pound, six ounces of miracle that died in my arms."  
  
He could her feel her sorrow and wonder how she could put herself through this kind of pain each time. But then he remembered this was a giving, loving soul. And every child was a miracle to her, just as ever death was a tragedy. He didn't have words of wisdom to share, didn't have words of comfort to give. All he had was a shoulder to let her cry on.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
R&R please. 


	8. Chapter 8

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: The hospital rumor mill goes into overdrive as Matt and Jules get reach out to one another.   
  
Note: If anyone got a chance to see the November 20th episode, there is a small scene from there.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 8  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Four in the morning?" came the incredulous question. Marie's wide eyes went even bigger, making her look like a landed fish.  
  
"That's what they're saying." Erica looked smugly at her fellow nurses, always delighted to be the first to know the going-ons in the hospital.  
  
"No way, you're lying," came the third person in the group. Lydia clicked the blue pen and wrote down the notes on the last patient she checked on.  
  
"Millicent saw it with her own eyes."   
  
"Dr. Keating is smarter than that."  
  
"Come on, when has smarts ever come into play when it is about the affairs of the heart?"  
  
"I still don't believe it."  
  
"Well I do." Marie interjected with excitement. "Saw them last week together in the hallway, whispering and stuff."  
  
"Discretion has never been Dr. Slingerland's most prevailing trait," Lydia replied.   
  
"Heck, if I was dating a hottie like Slingerland, I won't care to be discreet either."   
  
"But Dr. Keating would. So if they're seen together in public, than I highly doubt they're sleeping together." Picking up the chart, Lydia shook her head. "I don't believe it." Before going back to her rounds.  
  
Erica stared after her for a moment, disappointed that she wasn't going to spring the next piece of news on her. Leaning toward Marie, "I wonder what she would think of the fact that Dr. Slingerland and Dr. Keating are currently locked in her office together."  
  
"No!" Eyes even wider.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How long?"  
  
"An hour now."  
  
"Really? I thought it was their day off?"  
  
"Dr. Lenning called Dr. Keating in for premie last night. Slingerland showed up this morning and headed into her office. They haven't been seen since."  
  
"You sure they didn't just leave?"  
  
"Heck no, I've been standing here since he went in there. They are definitely still in there."  
  
"What do you think they're doing?"  
  
There was a meaning pause before giggling glances were exchanged. "Are you sure we want to know?"  
  
Jackie Colette dropped her stack of patient files on the counter with a loud bang, startling the two giggling nurses. Giving them both an impatient glance, she shook her head. "Don't you two have things to be doing?"  
  
"Yes doctor," Marie scrambled back to her station to make her round to do vital signs.   
  
"What were you two whispering about?" Jackie asked as she sighed some papers at the nurses' station and handed them to the Erica for processing.   
  
Erica busied herself collecting the necessary charts for the next rounds. "Oh just things."  
  
"What things have you two ignoring patients?" Jackie asked lightly with a grin. "Anything to do with the recent hook-up rumors that's been going around?" She hated to admit it, but she was damn curious to know what the rest of the staff knew.   
  
The nurse looked up surprised. "You heard about Dr. Keating and Dr. Slingerland too?" The doctors were notorious for keeping their lips sealed about their personal lives and the lives of their fellow physicians.   
  
"Who hasn't?" Jackie asked with a wide eye look as she dropped another chart in the nurse's arms. "Was that what you were talking about?"  
  
Erica nodded her head enthusiastically. "Millicent saw Dr. Slingerland drop Dr. Keating off at like four in the morning. Looks like he was with her when she got the call. Plus, they've been locked in Dr. Keating's office for like an hour now."   
  
"Really?" turning to stare at the closed door several yards away. "An hour?"  
  
The nurse nodded her head knowingly.   
  
"Wow," Jackie murmured suitably impressed. But then, she would assume since Slingerland does have a certain reputation, and reputation like that certainly is earned for most part.   
  
"Dr. Colette," Nick called as he came around the corner, glad to have found her.   
  
"Hey you," closing her file and glancing at her watch. "What are you doing there so early? I thought you took a power shift like two days ago. Didn't expect to see you at least until Monday."  
  
"I had a patient I wanted to check on this morning," Nick answered with a quick grin. "On the way, I managed to jump into another case. Got a moment to look at a laceration of the face?"  
  
"How bad?" she asked, looking at her watch. She's got at least another half an hour before her next patient shows up to talk about the fifth liposuction she wants down on her tree trunk legs.   
  
"Claw hammer to the cheek. Lots of damage to muscle, teeth and jaw bone."  
  
"Ouch," Jackie winced and couldn't help but glance at Dr. Keating's door as she passed it. "How did it happen?"  
  
Nick followed Jackie's eyes to the door for a moment, his curiosity peaked since it was the third time she's done so since he spotted her. "Did you need to talk to Dr. Keating about something?"  
  
"What?" startled at being caught. "No, I was just..." She grinned guiltily with delight. "One of the nurse said that Keating and Slingerland have been in her office for an hour now doing god knows what. It's their off-day too."  
  
Nick grinned suddenly, and turned his head to glance back at the door once more. He knew exactly what could be happening behind closed doors. But, "There could be a very logical explanation as to why they are in today."  
  
"Like?" she asked, punching the elevator button.  
  
"Like the case we were working on last evening. Billy Jankins, age 5, gall bladder removal." He glanced at the elevator light. "We finished at nine last evening and Slingerland took Keating home." The speculation as to what they did after Slingerland left with the young pediatrician was definitely in his eyes. Tilting his head, "As to what they could possibly talking about for an hour alone in her office... that's another story."   
  
"Really?" giggling with delight. "Oh this is good. Who knew? The Playboy and the Girl Scout. Will wonders ever cease?"   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Running a hand over the smooth, soft, almost-red hair, Matt decided that being the nice guy every once in a while wasn't so bad. Cradling the sniffling Jules, he wondered for a moment why he hadn't felt the urge to run as he always do when coming face to face with an upset female. Patients and their families he could handle, but the women in his life... But this felt different, non-threatening in a way. Perhaps it was knowing that Jules has about as much interest in him as he does in her. They were friends, good friends. There was no sexual attraction there to ruin that.  
  
And then he remembered the little dress she had on the other night. Okay, so there was a bit of a spark there. But hey, he was a man after all. And all men have the natural urges that... oh heck, he was only human. Besides which, Jules in that adorable little number could have gotten a rise out of a dead man.   
  
"Are you feeling any better?" he asked softly, gently tucking her head under his chin. She smelled like roses and strawberries. She mewed something unintelligible, which made Matt smiled. He had wondered when she'd tire herself out with crying. And as pleasurable as it was to just lay there on the ground holding her until the storm of tears have passed, he knew that it their time together would not go unnoticed if they stayed any longer. Lord knows what was already being blunted about even now. "Jules?"  
  
"Hum?" Shifting in her sleep and giving Slingerland's body all kinds of ideas that he has to silently chastise himself for.   
  
"Jules, wake up," moving himself back slightly so as to put some much-needed space between them. "Can't stay holed up here forever."  
  
She blinked, eyes unfocused for a moment until she finally settled her gaze on his face. "Oh." Looking around her office, she was surprised to find that they were lying side by side on the ground together. Sitting up, she felt a moment of embarrassment as she set about straightening her clothes as quickly as she could. "How long..."  
  
"Too long," he replied with a grin. "Don't worry, no one walked in or anything."  
  
Jules smiled in return, her eyes tired from her bout of tears. "By the way, you were right," getting up.  
  
"About?" asking as he got to his feet and offered her an hand.  
  
"Harriet didn't believe a word I said?" dusting off her clothes and running a quick hand through her mussed hair.   
  
"You told her the truth?" he gaped at her.  
  
Wincing, Jules tried not to feel guilty over the fact that she may have made a bad situation worse. "I thought she'd at least would believe me."  
  
"Jules," Slingerland ran a hand through his hair, wishing he could turn back the clock to the moment before he thoughtlessly picked up her phone. "Oh well... what's done is done. Let's just hope that she didn't spread it about."  
  
"Harriet doesn't gossip," Jules replied, grabbing her jacket from behind her chair. "Besides, even if people knew that you spent the night, it would only be a eight day wonder and will soon go away."  
  
"I suppose," he sighed and stretched. "You have breakfast yet? Besides the coffee and four pieces of saltine crackers you had at three in the morning."  
  
"It was four in the morning and no, I haven't had anything." She sighed and ran her tongue over her dry lips. Searching through her desk, she found one of the dozen chap sticks that she could never seem to keep track of. "You?"  
  
"I found bread at my apartment but it resemble a third grader's science project," taking the offered chap stick and slipping it into his coat pocket. "Want to get something to eat?"  
  
"Sure, but first I want to check on Billy again." She replied, looking around for her purse. "Last time I looked, his mother hasn't shown up yet."  
  
"Yeah, she hadn't gotten there by the time I went to visit him."  
  
"Oh, so that's how you knew I was here," she smiled grabbed her purse and slinging her coat over her arm. "Come on, let's hope she's shown up."  
  
Slingerland grimaced. "For Billy's sake, I hope so. For mine, I'd be happy if she's never cross my path again."  
  
"Oh," Jules smiled unsympathetic. "Poor baby. Having to fight off the women with a stick."  
  
"Keep it up and you're paying for breakfast."  
  
"Fine, I guess it was my turn anyways. By the way, if I didn't say this before," she paused at the door, turning to look him in the eyes. "Thanks."  
  
Something warm and fuzzy erupted. "You're welcome." He touched her face with his hand, glad to see that spark of purity in her eyes once more. "Now move, I'm ravenous."   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"An hour?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"An hour?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"An HOUR?!?!?"  
  
"Is there an echo in here?" Slingerland's British accent tilted in its amusement. "Yes, we were in there for an hour."  
  
"We are so doomed," Jules muttered as she collapsed onto the countertop of the little diner. It was bad enough that they were currently in diner that they both frequented, but the fact that it was most likely that staff at the hospital knew that they had been locked together.   
  
"Cheer up," sipping the terrible coffee from a cup that looked as old as he was. "It's Saturday. Chances are people won't even know that we were in."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Neither one of us have that kind of luck."  
  
Matt grinned knowingly. "Don't worry. You and I are so far apart on the spectrum of personalities; most people would dismiss it out of hand." He shifted in his seat and smiled charmingly at the waitress who came to refill Matt's mug every chance she got. "So what are you plans for the day?"  
  
Jules stacked her hand on the table and rested her chin on them. Her eyes wondered over to the four waitresses that were busy whispering to one another and making giggling noises. Not one of them was pass the drinking age she was sure. Oh well, to each their own. "Well, I was going to go home, wash my hair, do my bills and go rent a movie with a big tub of popcorn." And try to forget the face of a newborn that never got a chance in life.  
  
He stared at her, absentmindedly adding too much sugar to his coffee. She was sad, almost lost. It wasn't healthy on a face that was meant to smile. "I would think a gal like you would have men lining up around the block to take you out."  
  
"I wish," she pursed her lips and stared at the glass of orange juice that Matt insisted that she had along with her third coffee of the day, something about nutrition. "You have any idea when the last time I was out on a date? Not counting your non-date that is."   
  
"I find that a little hard to believe," and he did too. With her sweet face and charming disposition, he was sure that there were one or two saps out there worshipping the ground she treaded on. Jules Keating was one of those few women in the world Matt was sure every mother wanted for their sons.   
  
Rolling her eyes, she looked at him. "What about you? Why aren't you out having a romantic picnic somewhere with a blonde or redhead in your arms?"   
  
"But how ever would I choice?" he asked with mock gravity. "Blondes have such...wonderfully distinctive personalities. And redheads...hum... have such a...passion for life."   
  
Coving her ears with her hands, "Ahh... spare me the details for your sordid sex life."  
  
He laughed as the waitress returned with hot sandwiches for her and a healthy ham and egg breakfast platter for him. "Thank you kindly," he greeted the young blonde in his British accent that Jules knew would cause more than a few giggles among the female staff. Carefully removing the bone from the ham, he watched her pick the lattice and tomatoes from the sandwich before taking a tentative bite. "Why don't you come to the art museum with me instead of sitting home and doing mundane materials that can be spared for lovely weekday nights when there isn't anything better to do?"   
  
She licked lips of the extra mayo that ever good diner cook knows to add. There was nothing like an old fashion diner sandwich to get her mood up. "Museum?"   
  
For a moment, he lost his train of thought as he watched the little pink tongue darted out to lick the drop of condiment from the corner of her mouth. There was something a little too intimate about the act. "Um..."  
  
"Matt?" Jules asked, her eyes full of concern as she watched him closed his eyes.   
  
"Sorry," he muttered, chastising himself. He seemed to be doing that quite a bit in her company. "Yes, the museum. The Art Museum. Was invited by an acquaintance of my mother's. They begin their European exhibits today. Some very wonderful materials to be seen."   
  
"Any one I know?" she asked, sipping juice.   
  
"Doubtful," he replied, putting his concentration on his breakfast. It was infinitely easier to think about food than others things currently vying for attention in his mind. Unfortunately, food was less appealing to think about. "Most are up and coming artist that they're trying to promote. Not to say that they haven't made a name for themselves but... they're not quite known throughout the international realm."  
  
"Hence the exhibition," she concluded with a smile. "Got it."   
  
There was a few moment of silence, as Matt waited with his eyes on everything else but the woman sitting across from him. Then the silence got to him. "Well?"  
  
Jules looked up from her side dish of coleslaw. "Oh... sorry. Okay, sure. I guess one can never get enough of modern art that no one can really understand except the artist who is going to spend hours trying to explain it to the audience who will all nod their heads and pretend to understand all the while still thinking that it looks like a matchstick and a red balloon."   
  
Choking on his scrambled egg, Matt tried not to laugh out loud.   
  
Smiling sweetly, she offered, "Juice?"  
  
Taking the glass from her hand, he swallowed what's left in the glass. "You are an evil woman, Dr. Keating."   
  
"Who me?" in all innocence as the waitress came over. "Hi, Dr. Slingerland here would like some water please."   
  
Matt coughed up the rest of the eggs that had gone down the wrong tube and glared at her. "Was it really necessary to tell her I'm a doctor?"  
  
"Yes," she smiled and picked up her fork once more. "And yes, I would love to come see the modern art exhibit with you. But only if you buy ice cream afterwards."  
  
"You're like a little kid, you know?" he grinned as the waitress came back with a large glass of water. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome, doctor," the blonde replied smiling twice was brightly as before.   
  
Jules waited until the girl was out of hearing range before shaking her head with a sigh. "Another one bites the dust."  
  
"Minx."  
  
"And proud of it!"  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Where were you this weekend?" Rae asked as she passed Jules in the hall on Monday morning. "I called but no one answered."  
  
"Why?" her freckled nose wrinkled with concern as she glanced down at her schedule for the day. It was a going to be another ugly one. "Did you need me for something?"  
  
"No," Rae answered handing her charts to the Clara. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to see a movie or something. Sean is still out of town."  
  
"Oh, I went to a museum with a friend on Saturday and the gym on Sunday." She scratched out a couple notes to herself before picking up her charts. "Anita, could you tell Dr. Kokoris that I need him for a consult at ten?"  
  
"Consult?" Rae asked, curious.  
  
"I've got a little girl with a cut left side, six stitches in the ER but there appears to be something embedded. The x-ray shows a metal piece of something. Mother says that she fell into the fire place and cut herself on the poker." She shook her head. "You'd think that families with small children would be more careful."   
  
"Tell me about it," she smiled and looked at her own schedule. "Ouch, who set this for me?"  
  
"Frank did," Anita answered immediately.  
  
Frank made a face and shrugged his shoulders. "Dr. Keating, this was flagged for you by pediatric records for your 10:30 appointment. And a pharmacy in Berkeley called for you an hour ago about some prescriptions."  
  
"Oh," looking at the chart, she frowned. "Where's Dr. Slingerland?"  
  
Rae and Anita both looked up at the same time. "I think he just arrived, second floor."  
  
Noting something in the chart, Jules nodded absentmindedly. "Okay, put my first appointment in exam four. Get the pharmacy back on the phone for me; we are experiencing some difficulties with prescribed medication written on my pads. And I'll be right back." She took off for the stairs in a trot.  
  
Arriving on the second floor, she looked around for a moment. "Norman, where's Dr. Slingerland."  
  
"Curtain two," he answered, nudging the nurse beside him gently in the ribs. The two lunged over the receptionist station to watch her as she pass them toward curtain two area.   
  
Turning the corner, she caught sight of him examining a chart with deep concentration.   
  
Looking up, he smiled.   
  
"Hey," handing him the chart she had carried down with her from pediatrics. "I'm sending you a nineteen year old patient of mine complaining of muscle aches and fatigue."   
  
"Nineteen?" He looked at her sideways while doing a quick flip of the chart in his hands. "That's a little long in the tooth for you, is it?"  
  
She wrinkled her nose. "I saw him once when he was sixteen years old, he's in college now."  
  
He grinned, amused. "All grown up."  
  
She looked at him sideways with a tilt of her head, "And on your schedule," replying in an imitation of his accent.  
  
He smiled back. "No problem."  
  
"Thanks," before running into Jackie Colette.   
  
Norman and Henry pulled their head back from the as Dr. Slingerland came down the hall toward them. At their wide eye stared, he frowned. "What's the matter?"  
  
"What did Dr. Keating want?" Norman asked, pretending to fiddle with the computer programming on scheduling patients.   
  
"She's transferring a patient to me," he replied, dropping the chart on the counter. "Make sure he gets on my schedule."   
  
Norman nodded before turning to Frank. "Think that whole that was enacted for our benefits?"  
  
Frank glanced down the hall at where Dr. Keating and Dr. Colette were headed toward the plastic surgeon's office. "You mean that whole, I'm-just-up-here-on-business routine?" he glanced sideways at his fellow gossiper. "Totally not buying it."  
  
"Me either."  
  
"Norman!" Dr. Jordan called as she wanted into the receptionist area with a paper cup in her hand. "If my coffee doesn't start tasting like coffee in the next half hour, you are going to be in a world of pain." She stuck the Vanilla Parfait under the man's nose. "Put it back!"   
  
"Yes, madam," picking up cup and clip and getting the hell out of there.  
  
Letty looked through the charts once more at her next set of patients of the day. "Frank, make sure my husband knows that I'll be home late tonight cause I've got two patients coming in after hours."  
  
"Yes Dr. Jordan," Frank answered scribbling down a note just as Dr. Keating appeared at the station once more. "Dr. Keating, Dr. Slingerland just went in to see his next patient."  
  
Jules frowned at him. "I wasn't looking for him." Wondering what would make the man think such a thing given that she rare cross patients with Slingerland, she shook her head. "Letty, can I have you take a look at some x-rays later? I have a twelve year old with a congested heart."  
  
"Due to what?" Letty asked, glancing briefly at the nurse who was making his way away from the scene of his own mishap.   
  
"I would say pizza and hamburgers," Jules replied with a grimace. "I get more of them every day."  
  
"I hear you," glancing over her shoulder at several nurses who were whispering and making less than subtle glances at Jules. "Hey Jules?"  
  
"Yeah?" taking up a spare chart sheet and making several notations before tucking it into her coat pocket.   
  
"Have you been..." she hesitated. It was unlike her to gossip and even more unlike her to interfere in other people's business. Yet, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about this whole Keating/Slingerland thing. "Have you been seeing anyone lately?"  
  
She looked up, confusion clouding her eyes for a moment. "Oh no, Letty. Not another blind date. I still haven't recovered from the one Rae set me up on."  
  
"No, nothing like that," laughing as she remembered Jules describing in all the gloriously detail of her blind date's analysis of blue chip stocks. "It's just... I was just wondering if you were seeing anyone these days. Especially given that you were going to store your eggs and all."  
  
"No, no time for dating." She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "And I did have my eggs frozen. I got a sperm donor."  
  
"Oh, good," relieved that the chances of the rumors of Jules and Matt Slingerland were less likely to be true... yet there was that night at the Blue Note. Oh heck, what does it matter to her anyways. "Well, I've got lots of patients."  
  
"Don't remind me," Jules said walking toward the stairs again. "I've got a full load on my plate today."  
  
"Aren't you taking the elevator?"  
  
"Why wait?" before she disappeared into the stairwell.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Okay, was I the only one that thought that small and all too brief scene between Keating and Slingerland was too short in that episode? 


	9. Chapter 9

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: The hospital staff continues to watch as Matt and Jules deal with the aftermath of some emotionally trying cases.   
  
Note: This takes place within the context of my own plot line and after the events of the November 20th episode; it's the one with Christine Baranski guest staring. For those of you that didn't see the episode, don't worry. You won't be left behind.   
  
Author's Note: Hooray, Presidio Med has been picked up by CBS for a full season. They will be back on the air in January. In the mean time, I can do with the plot lines as I like until the canons come back. Not that I haven't been messing with it a whole lot already. (hee-hee)  
  
Rating: I know that I didn't do a rating before, always preferring to set my stories at PG-13 to be safe. And while I know that setting it at R is probably being overly cautious, I'm going to do so anyways.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 9  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Dr. Keating?" Nick asked as he stopped by the busy operation room. He hadn't heard about Dr. Keating's dilemma until late in the afternoon, by that time he had already been in too much trouble to help. "I'm sorry that I wasn't..."  
  
"It's okay," she said, pulling the bloody gloves off her hands with a snap and tossing them into the trash before rubbing her eyes tiredly. "You had your own problems and everything worked out fine."  
  
Dr. Kokoris sighed and leaned against the wall as he watched the exhausted Dr. Keating scrubbed her hands clean and dry. The young woman looked as if she's aged ten years in the past few hours. "How is she?"  
  
"Resting," she replied, her eyes burning with unshed tears that she's been holding back all through the procedure. "She made it through surgery fine, but the scarring is going to... I'm going to have Jackie take a look at her in a few days to see what kind of damage control can be done." She glanced down at her hands, clean now but still feeling the sharp piece of metal against her fingertips as she extracted it from the little girl's belly.   
  
"Are you all right?" Nick asked, watching her with concern.  
  
She sniffled and shook her head. "We try everyday to protect the most innocent and good. And these people come in here and show me a man that fired a rifle in his house next to his little girl, causing massive damage both emotionally and physically to a ten year old. No, I don't think I'm okay."  
  
Nick sighed and took her by the elbow, leading her away from the OR. "Dr. Keating, don't do this to yourself. You did a good job today."  
  
"I should have seen this when she came in the first time."  
  
"You didn't know," sitting her down on the bench in the hall. "You couldn't have known. We're not here everyday looking for bad people. It's human nature, especially for one such as you, to want to believe in the goodness of people."   
  
Jules sighed, leaning her head back against the wall for a moment and stared at the fluorescent light above. Life should be simpler than this. "I just want to sleep tonight and not think about this any more."  
  
"Then go home," offering her his hand and pulled her to her feet. "You deserve it."  
  
"Jules," Rae called as she came up to them, her eyes full of concern to her obviously tired friend. "What happened?"  
  
"Bad day," she replied with a quick smile. "I'm going to clean up and go home."   
  
"Good idea," Rae said watching as Jules struggled to her feet slowly. "Jules, do you need any ..."  
  
"No, no, I'm okay," Jules rolled her shoulders back and took a deep breath. Her body has some real rights to be complaining right about now, given the abuse she's been putting it through. "Frank!" she called as the day nurse was about to make his way out.   
  
"Yes, Dr. Keating?" turning to face her with some reluctance.   
  
"What happened with Alan?" she asked with concern. "Last time I heard, he'd pull the tubes out during dialysis."  
  
Frank frowned for a moment, trying to recall the patient and the happenings. "Oh, the psycho kid!"  
  
"Frank!" she reprimanded severely.   
  
He winced at the sharpness in her voice. "He's down in the psych ward. Dr. Slingerland admitted the girlfriend after the kid went ape on her."   
  
"Oh my god," Rae looked horrified as Jules stared. "Is she all right?"  
  
"Yeah. Dr. Slingerland got to her in time."  
  
Jules breathed a sigh of relief and tried to ignore the feeling of guilt at having dumped this whole mess on Matt's head. "Where's Dr. Slingerland now?"  
  
"Psych ward." Frank replied, shuffling his feet toward the exit.  
  
"Go, go," waving him off, Jules turned about and headed for the psych ward with more energy than she thought was possible.   
  
Nick and Rae stared after her.  
  
"I thought she was getting ready to go home?" Nick asked with amusement.  
  
"Apparently not," Rae shook her head and hoped her friend knew what she was getting herself into.   
  
Nick shook his head, not the least bit surprise at what love can make a person do. Such as fly across an ocean and a continent with no sure fate as to whether his heart would come out in tact. But then again, life was a gamble on in itself. "You had dinner yet?"  
  
She turned and shook her head at him. "Go away, Nick."  
  
"Just a question," he grinned back at him. "I'll be available for the next two weeks if you have nothing to do."  
  
"I heard you got suspended," she replied, with a roll of her eyes.   
  
"I saved a life, that's what important," or so he keeps rationalizing it himself, especially after the scolding from Dr. Jordan. She and his sister would get alone fabulously. Both have this amazing ability to reduce him down to three again.  
  
"Go home, Nick," Rae advised, turning toward the exit.   
  
"Why don't you come with me?" he asked, walking alongside her just to see what she'd do even knowing the answer.   
  
"Nick," warning him.  
  
"You can't avoid me forever," he replied quietly. "I'll be waiting." Then took himself off in the opposite direction.  
  
"Don't hold your breath," muttering under her breath and wondering what she was doing to herself. All she wanted to do now was go home to her husband and take a nice long hot shower. Then maybe work on getting her marriage back on track and forget the gorgeous doctor what seemed to want to give her the world. She gave a silent laugh of amusement, "And I was worried about Jules?"  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
She slowed as she came near the bench that held a very dejected Dr. Slingerland, staring off into nothing. The exhaustion was palpable even from the distance of the hall. It was as if someone stole something bright in him. "Hey you."  
  
Slingerland turned and blinked at her for a moment, recognition slow in coming. Then as if someone had turned on a ray of hope, he brightened and smiled. "Hello," then glanced down at his watch. "What are you still doing here?"  
  
"Taking care of a very special little girl," she replied, sitting down next to him with a sigh. It wasn't just physical exhaustion any more; it was everything else in life. "I heard about Alan."  
  
He nodded his head, taking her offer of sympathy. "And I heard about Dorothy Ann. How is she?"  
  
"She'll live," Jules replied, surprised that with all that was happening on his schedule he had managed to keep an ear to the ground about hers. "I'm going to have Jackie try to remove that scar. I don't want her to have to remember what her dad did every time she takes a shower."   
  
"Yeah, not exactly that most cheery thing to remember about your childhood," he replied, tilting his shoulder to let her rest her head against it. "DCFS step in?"  
  
"Police took the dad in custody and social services got emergency control over Dorothy. The mother..." Jules swallowed. "She'll end up losing the other two as well."  
  
"It's to protect them," he said quietly. "You can only protect them from others," he turned his head slightly to look through the glass at the retrained young man that laid so peacefully now in bed. "But there is so much you can't protect them from."   
  
She followed his eyes to her former patient. "I heard about the girlfriend."  
  
"Beth," he informed her with a smile. "Short for Bethlehem." He shook his head and stared ahead once more. "She loves him. Don't blame him one bit for what happened. The girl nearly died from a beating that would have killed a lesser gal. And Alan... he doesn't even remember."  
  
Taking his hand, Jules linked her fingers with his giving him a reassuring squeeze. "You did what you could. Alan is... he's not a child that you can just scold." She turned to look at him, see the pain in his eyes at not having acted sooner or more for the young man. "You protected Beth the best you could. I know you did. And you got to her in time to save her life, that's what counts, saving lives."  
  
Slingerland nodded, understanding what she was saying and accepting it in his mind if not in his heart. He was tired, bone tired and heartsick; but not to the point that he didn't notice the fact that she looked about as bad as he felt. "Go home, Jules. You look ready to drop any second."  
  
Keating smiled, "I could say the same of you."  
  
He looked back at Alan for a moment. "I think I'll stay here for a bit."  
  
Getting up, she squeezed his hand one more time before letting go. "Matt, he is where he needs to be. Don't beat yourself up over something you had no control over. You did good."   
  
Smiling up at her, "You should take your own advice. You saved that little girl and got the other children the protection they needed. Don't doubt yourself."   
  
She wondered if she did enough in time. The damage, emotional ones, have already been inflicted and would be the hardest to heal. But there was nothing more she could do, or offer, for those children. Nodding, she turned to leave.  
  
Matt sat there watching her drooped shoulder and slow walk. People like Jules Keating shouldn't have to suffer through the ugliness of life. They should be allowed to wear rose color glasses and believe in fairy tales. "Jules?"  
  
She turned. "Yeah?"  
  
He got up and reached out a hand. "You want to go get some ice cream?"  
  
Jules smiled before taking the offered hand. "Only if we can get dinner first."  
  
"Deal."  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Next time, I'll get dinner and you get desert," Jules said as she pushed the door open with a mighty shove. "And I didn't do all the bolts this time."   
  
"Thank god for some small miracles, it's freezing out here," pushing her through the door before him. "Good grief, the temperature seem to drop another few degrees every time I turn around." Rubbing his arms through the sleeves of his coat vigorously.  
  
"You're from England, for god sakes. Isn't it like always raining there?" Checking the thermostat.   
  
"You Americans either watch too many movies about England or you think all of England is like London." He pulled the scarf from around his neck and dropped it carelessly over the back of her sofa along with his gloves and coat. "I happened to have grew up in a nice part of England where it is neither so unbearably cold nor suffocating humid." With a sigh, he dropped his tired self down on the couch. "Mother was right, I should have gone to LA."   
  
"But then you won't have met little ole me!" she said, leaning over the back of the couch to grin at him.   
  
Tilting his head back, he smiled at her. "True." Looking around the cozy little apartment, "Aren't you going to offer me your mother's wonderful coffee?"  
  
"A grateful guest I see," tapping him lightly on the top of his head before swinging about to turn to the kitchen. "Pop in a sappy happy movie, will you? I want to feel good again."  
  
"What? Dinner with yours truly didn't do the trick for you, luv?" getting up to looked at the collection of DVD's that were neatly lined up on the low left just under the missive flat screen on the wall. Glancing upward and about, he let out a low whistle of appreciation. "And here I thought only us men have a fine taste for surround sound home entertainment systems."   
  
"You can lay the blame on that one directly on my brother Jeff's head. He always said that nothing is worth having if it's not the finest you can afford. Being a chemical engineer, he can afford quite a lot," she laughed as she watched the coffee maker drip droplets of heavenly nectar. "I'm making this doubly strong."  
  
"You still have some popcorn left from the other night?" he asked, fingering several highly romantic comedy films that he knew would bring a smile to her face. But to be completely honest, he didn't particularly want to watch people falling heavily in love, especially given the pathetic state in which his own life has been of late.   
  
"Yeah. Extra butter?" she called back from the kitchen as she looked through her shelves. Hardly anyone ever allows her to put extra butter on the popcorn, most complained that it's either too sweet, too greasy or it would go straight to their thighs.   
  
"How can you have popcorn without extra butter?" Matt asked bemused as he pulled 'The Fifth Element' and 'The Thin Man' from the shelf. Holding the two up for Jules to see, he asked, "Sci Fi or classic black and white?"  
  
Peering at him from behind the breakfast counter, she frowned. "Oh, tough call."  
  
"Flip a coin," he said, inhaling a lungful of caffeine. "Oh, that smells delicious."  
  
"Sugar only right? Two spoonfuls?" she asked instinctively even knowing the answer already as she stirred the sugar into his cup and cream only into her own. She turned to look at the popcorn currently making a racket in the microwave.   
  
Slingerland grinned as he watched her, marveling at the fact that she knew how he took his coffee. Most of the women he ever dated didn't even remember his last name, simply referring to him as 'doc.' It was nice having someone around that knew him to a degree. "I'll take Sci Fi and you take Classic." Pulling a coin out, "Call it."  
  
"Heads," she replied as the shiny quarter flipped through the air.  
  
"Heads have it," putting 'The Fifth Element' back to its location on the neatly alphabetized order. "Ever wondered why they decided that the perfect being in the universe should be a woman?"  
  
"Matt, you're so asking the wrong person here," coming around the corner with a tray. "You want chocolate?"  
  
"What do you have?" slipping the DVD into the player.  
  
"M&M's and some..." she glanced into the cookie jar on the dining room table. "I'm not sure what this is so let's just stick with M&M's shall we?"  
  
He laughed, feeling better by the minute. He could almost push back the sense of guilt over the whole Alan thing... almost. "Halloween leftovers?"  
  
"Yes," she shook her head as she put the tray down and opened up the packet of M&M's to pour into the small candy dish on the glass coffee table. "Every year I tell myself not to buy so much candy cause I usually end up with enough to last me through to Christmas. But I don't ever seem to remember when the next year rolls around."  
  
"I never have that problem," taking a sip of the scolding hot coffee and sighing with content as the heat slowly made its way down to his toes.  
  
"How?"  
  
"I work Halloween nights," he replied with a grin. "But I always leave a large bucket of candy in front of my door so that children may get it themselves. I have never come home to leftover candies before."  
  
"Hum..." she wrinkled her nose as she flipped through the front menu section. "I'll have to remember that. Oh... did I tell you? I saw Billy this morning."  
  
"Follow up appointment?" he asked, putting popcorn into his mouth and leaning back to enjoy the movie, not once wondering how he ended up in Dr. Keating's apartment on a Wednesday evening watching old movies and enjoying her charming company.   
  
"Yes," she replied, sitting back with the bowl of popcorn between the two of them and the coffee mugs within easy reach. "Debra may not be the most attentive mother, but Billy sure is one happy healthy child. Well, except for the gall bladder thing."  
  
"Did you ever find out why he had a failed gall bladder at such a young age?" he asked as Myrna Loy appeared on the screen, funny hat, fur coat and all being dragged by her dog through a gin joint. "I love this movie."  
  
"Who wouldn't love Loy and Powell?" she asked chewing on the popcorn, savoring the taste of hot melted butter on her tongue. "And no, looks like he's probably just got a weak gall bladder that was abused by the massive amounts of junk food he is fed."  
  
"Well, Debra may not win the mother of the year award but at least we know that Billy is taken care of," he chuckled softly as he watched the interplay between Powell and Loy. "How many of these movies did they make?"  
  
"Six I think," she replied, laughing as she admired Loy's abilities to carry off a comical look without being the least bit conscious. She only wish she was nearly as graceful. "Yeah, I guess I'll give Debra credit for at least making sure her kid is in good health."  
  
"By the way, did I tell you that I think Debra may have finally taken the bait?" he asked reaching into the bowl absentmindedly. "Six Thin Man movies?"  
  
"Really?" choking on an un-popped kernel. "How did that miracle come about?"  
  
"Don't know," shrugging his shoulders gently, eyes glued to the television set. "It may have something to do with your saving her son's life."  
  
Jules laughed gently at the Christmas party scene as all the guests drank themselves into a stupor, "I guess." Shifting in the seat to find a more comfortable position. "And yeah, Loy and Powell did a total of six in the Nick and Nora Charles series, and a few more others together. They always did great chemistry. Oh man, you think people so do those kinds of parties any more?"  
  
"If we were in England yes," he answered, swinging one arm back to drape around Jules's shoulders, bring her and the popcorn bowl closer. "You wouldn't believe the amount of alcohol consumed in my country. It is the stuff of AA's nightmares."  
  
For a moment, she wasn't sure how to react to his causal touch. But seeing that he was more interested in the movie than anything else, she ignored the slight flutter in her stomach and chalked it up to an unconscious friendly gesture. "Yet we don't hear about alcohol abuse as prominently as we do here in the states."   
  
Slingerland snorted his amusement, "You American are a little too obsessed with other people's business. World around you would go a lot smoother if you paid less attention to others and more attention to your own lives."  
  
"Right, that's why Princess Diana was killed trying to get away from reporters that couldn't care a fig about her life." She tilted her head to look at him with a grin.  
  
Nodding his head, he conceded defeat. "Point taken."   
  
Laughing, she pushed him gently with her shoulder. She leaned her head on his shoulders as they fell into comfortable silence, watching a classic detective film that features two of the most brilliant comedic stars in the 40's at their best. "You can see that Nora loved Nick a lot."  
  
"You mean besides that fact that she teases and insults him in turn," he grinned. "Yeah, they had something there that is so incredibly rare in this day and age."  
  
"Unconditional love?" she asked with sappy happy smile as Nora grabbed Nick in a panic as he was about to go out the door. "I use to watch these movies and pretend that it's me in there, finding or having the love of my life. Silly, heh?"  
  
"Movies are suppose to take you away from realities, that's what they are there for." He replied quietly, eyes still on the television but mind no longer in it. "They help you forget." But forgetting isn't something that comes easily.   
  
Jules nodded her head soberly; no longer as interested in the movie as she had been only minutes before. "Is that what we're doing? Trying to forget?"  
  
He gave her shoulder a squeeze. It would be nice to simply agree with her, at least to make her feel better. But lying to her was not something he was willing to do, even if it was to protect her. "No, just trying to live with it."   
  
She was quiet for a moment, snuggling into the crook of his arm. "What do you think will happen to Alan?"  
  
Slingerland wondered that all evening himself. "Psych will do their evaluation tomorrow and start treatment for him. From everything Beth tells me, Alan was a good kid once. Maybe with the proper help..." How much of the kid's life will be stolen from him until he is helped was another question.   
  
"And the girlfriend?"  
  
"Who, Beth?" He shook his head. "She's going to stay by his side until he gets out. Vowed it in fact." Another young life wasted. "She was going to go to LA and become an artist. Performing arts, of course."  
  
"Of course," she replied with a weak smile.  
  
"I'm glad that you turned Alan's case over to me."  
  
"Are you?" Jules asked softly.   
  
"Yeah," he nodded sincerely. "I would hate it if you had to deal with Alan's problem."  
  
Finding it awfully sweet of him, "Well, to be honest, I think I would have gladly traded Alan's problem for Dorothy Ann's."  
  
Matt acknowledged that with a nod, eyes watching the television but not seeing it any more. "What do you think is going to happen to that little girl?"  
  
Jules shook her head, feeling the tightness in her chest again. She could still see the metal shard and feel it in her gloved hand as she extracted it from the torn muscle at the girl's side. "If she's lucky, she won't remember much of what happened. The antibiotics and painkillers should help to ease some of the memory. If she's not, Dorothy Ann will remember that her father tried to kill her with a shotgun."   
  
Pulling her against him a little tighter, he wished he could remove the trace of bitter pain in her voice. "She's safe now."  
  
"She's in a hospital alone with enough stitches on her side to make a Goth queen proud. And when she gets out, she'll go into a foster home. If she goes into a good home, she may come out merely bitter and in need of some counseling. If she doesn't..." she shuddered just remembering some of the horror stories that came out of bad foster homes. "Dorothy Ann is never going to be a little girl anymore."  
  
There was nothing he could say to that, nothing to change that reality for her. "We do what we can."  
  
"But it's not enough," she replied, her eyes tearing up. "It's not nearly enough."  
  
"No," he said softly with a great deal of weight in his heart. "It's not."  
  
They sat there in silence, watching as Nick and Nora invited all the suspects of the murder to a nice dinner party, complete with a police escort. As the scene played out, neither Slingerland nor Keating said a word.   
  
Matt felt pained at having not been able to allow Jules some peace, even for one night. Jules felt awful at having brought up the whole ugly subject again, even after promising not to speak of it during dinner. But it is something either one can ignore. They are who they are, and their patients affected their lives, good and bad.   
  
"Matt?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You going to stay the night?" she asked tentatively. She knew what Harriet thought of it, she has a pretty good idea what the rest of the staff will say about it, but she didn't care at the moment. Besides, she was a grown woman. She can do as she liked.   
  
For a moment, he thought about cracking a joke. But the mood of the evening had turned heavy. "May I?"  
  
"Yeah," she nodded her head, gently bumping his chin with the top of her head.  
  
"Then I'll stay," he replied, leaning his head down to drop a kiss on her head, glad that he could. He didn't really want to face a cold empty apartment tonight.  
  
She tilted her head up to thank for, not wanting to be alone tonight, just as his head descended.   
  
Instead of the chaste friendly kiss on the head, as Matt intended, or the grateful thank you that Jules had been about to bestow, their lips met. Both too startled by the unexpected event to move, the kiss lingered.   
  
Slingerland finally jerked his head back. "I..." She stared at him for a moment before touching his lips with her fingertips, silencing him. Then considering it, she lifted herself up and pressed her lips against his again.   
  
For a moment, Matt allowed himself to enjoy the feel of a woman against his body. She tasted sweet like candy and smelled incredibly good. Then remembering whom this was and what their relationship was, he pulled back, pressing himself into the sofa. "This is not a good idea."  
  
"Why?" she asked, shifting her position on the couch so that her body was now facing his.   
  
"Because you and I are... are... We're friends and..." he never got to finish as Jules pressed her open mouth against his, tasting the sugar from the coffee he had earlier and the salty taste of the melted butter from the popcorn. Surprisingly enough, it didn't both her one bit.  
  
A kiss, in Slingerland's mind, was one of the most intimate acts in a liaison. It begins and relates to things that are beautiful and good about relationships. Which is one of the reasons that he so enjoyed kissing. And Jules Keating, innocent lamb that she is, was one hell of a kisser. Lying there with her pressed up tight against him, he was so tempted to just give into the incredible pleasures that he already getting a taste of.   
  
No, no, no. He couldn't let himself do this. She was a good friend, one of the best things that's come into his life in a long while. He was not going to screw this up for a... a fling. Besides, men don't have flings with girls like Jules. She was the marrying type, not the roll-in-the-hay type. Grabbing her by the upper arms, he pushed her back. "Jules..." And then he looked into her eyes.   
  
Gray-green eyes were wide with need, pain and a good dash of misery added to the mix. And worse of all, they were pleading with him to understand. "Please," she whispered softly as her hand came to rest over his on her arms.   
  
Death, pain, suffering... all the elements were converging on her. And like soldier after the field of battle, she was looking for a reaffirmation of life. How can he deny her that?  
  
"No regrets in the morning, okay?" he hoped more than asked as his hands loosened their hold.  
  
She nodded, her head already lowering to his again. And in the next kiss, she obliterated the lines of their friendship forever.  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
I was going to give a little more description but decided that you can all use your imagination on this one. But I would love know what you think of the story so far. 


	10. Chapter 10

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: What can I say; this is going to be the morning after scene.   
  
Rating: Definitely putting it at R just in case. There are some semi-graphic descriptions but not enough to be embarrassing or offensive.   
  
Note: If you didn't read the last chapter, go read it now. It only makes sense.   
  
Author's Note: I know that I said I wasn't going to describe the 'encounter' between Slingerland and Keating but.... Well, I lied. Can't really do the morning after without some description of the night before. Really, I did try to avoid it to give you free reign with your imagination but I failed. Forgive me?  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 10  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
The first sensation was warmth, like lying naked on a grassy field in the middle of July somewhere in Omaha or another one of the great rolling hills states. The second was a sweet contentment that hadn't been there since... hum...long enough that it was now just a vague memory. The third was of the lean, hard, undoubtedly male body against her back, intimately spooning her. And let us not leave out the smooth firm hand that fell languorously over her belly.   
  
Just for a second before her brilliant mind came full-chorus awake, Jules Keating blanked at how she ended up in bed with a man. Then the flashes of the night before returned and she wasn't sure if she should be gleeful or mortified.   
  
One thing was for sure, she now knew without a doubt in her mind that there was an awful lot of truth to the reputed reputation of Dr. Matthew Slingerland.   
  
After the initial kiss, which she still wasn't sure why she instigated, and after she had finally brought him around, for what reason she did so was now escaping her logical mind, there was nothing but seeking hands and heated bodies. There was nothing more there but a need to forget, leave behind the ugliness of the day and just simply cleanse herself of the evils that plagued her mind.   
  
She simply wanted; and she took. He didn't put up much of a fight, probably in need of the same kind of mindlessness that she did, merely assisted in opening up his cumbersome clothes to allow her access to that firm body of his. They never got completely out of their attires before need took control and pushed them over the peak of pleasure.   
  
Then came the good stuff, the stuff you read about between the covers of steamy romance novels and really risqué movies; the stuff Jules knew was what led to Matt's nickname with the nurses behind his back, 'Casanova.'  
  
The kiss that followed the first round was intimately long and hot enough to curl her toes. She had a distinctive feeling that he was thoroughly enjoying himself as he aroused her slowly this time around, letting foreplay be the aphrodisiac. Somewhere between the couch and the bed, he managed to divest them both of the rest of their clothing. By the time he slowly laid her down on the cloud of white down and stretched out beside her, she was a warm mass of putty in his hands. And then he began to make love to her; for that was the only way she was going to call the kind of attention and sensual pleasure he visited upon her. It was nothing she could describe and putting it into words would only cheapen it.   
  
Peaking the second time, Jules could have happily died a content woman when he began again. Somehow, she had a feeling that the third time was simply to cushion the descent from the second climax, bringing them up gently again before allowing her to fall into peaceful, warm slumber; chasing away the demons of the night that should have otherwise visited her after the kind of day she had.  
  
Now the lazy, hazy sun peeked through the glazy curtains of her bedroom, reminding her that the day has broken and reality was about to crash upon her. Oh, if she could only close her eyes and fall back into the embrace of the serene night.   
  
Hoping to forestall the conversation that was likely to take place, she started to ease herself from under Slingerland's arm and out of the warm cuddly position that was something she hadn't thought he'd go for. Unfortunately, that said arm only tightened, bring her closer to him as he snuggled her.   
  
Holding her breath, Jules hoped he would fall back asleep and allow her another chance to escape again. As fate would have it, she went to bed with one of the few men in the world that were light sleepers. "Good morning."  
  
Letting out the breath she had been holding, she sighed in defeat. "Morning," not quite ready to turn around to face him.   
  
"Did you sleep well?" he asked, slipping his other arm under her and hugging her tightly to him. Nuzzling her for a moment, he pressed his lips against the nape of her neck, his breath sending sizzling warmth through her body.   
  
"Um..." she pulled the sheets around herself and turned in his arms, careful to put a little more space between them so that she could look at him without going cross eyed and still be decently covered. Or at least as decently as one can be when naked. "Matt..."  
  
"Oh lord," he closed his eyes and leaned his head back without turning away from her. "Please tell me we are not about to have the whole awkward-morning-after moment that every hot blooded man dreads."   
  
As nervous as she was, Jules couldn't help herself. "What if I like doing the awkward-morning-after thing?"  
  
Matt opened his eyes and raised an amused brow at her, obviously surprised and delighted with her sassy reply. And before Jules knew what was happening, he had pressed her back on the bed, lips maneuvering themselves into the most hot intimate kiss since... well, since last evening. His arms held her close even as his weight pressed her into the bedding, keeping her well aware of their present position.... And the fact that he too had nothing on beneath the sheets.  
  
When oxygen finally became an issue, he pulled back slowly, lips lingering as if reluctant to break contact. Jules kept her eyes close for a moment longer, trying to reestablish some equilibrium to her reeling senses.   
  
"Well," Matt said casually as if he hadn't just tried to give her an orgasmic experience with a kiss. "I suppose I should set about convincing you of the contrary, shouldn't I?"   
  
She counted to ten, hoping her heart would return to a semi normal rate. Then she counted to ten again. "Matt..."  
  
"What happened to no regrets in the morning?" he asked, teasingly as he propped himself up by the elbow.   
  
Giving him a weak smile, she sighed. "It went out the window when my sanity returned with the dawn." Wrinkling her nose and squeezing her eyes shut, "Matt, I think that..."  
  
"I think that you think too much," he interrupted flopping onto his back to stare at the ceiling. "I think that we need to think about this some more instead of jumping from one conclusion to the next after a night of fireworks. I don't know about you but I'm starved for food. Worked up quite an appetite for something other than your delectable body." Turning his head enough to look at her, "Why don't you jump into the shower while I make breakfast for us both? We'll talk after."  
  
Wondering if she's lost her mind for the second time in twenty-four hours, Jules nodded her head lacking a better reply. When neither of them moved, her natural quirkiness reared its ugly head. "Are you planning on moving or just lay there staring at me all day?"  
  
Matt grinned in return. "While the latter of the choice could be quite delightful, I was actually waiting for you to get up first. I thought perhaps your sense of modesty would not withstand my walking about your bedchambers without my Skivvies."   
  
She blinked at him.  
  
"Undergarments, Sunshine." He grinned at her slyly. "Unless you are interested. After all, we didn't exactly get to..."  
  
Jules got out of the bed, tugging the sheets with her and dashed into the bathroom. Once there, she let out a breath and blushed ten shades red as she realized that she was rather inclined to give into the temptation of viewing Matt Slingerland's assets. It was only natural given the circumstances.  
  
Matt laid there for a few more seconds after Jules made that comical exit and let out the breath he had not realized that he had been holding all morning.   
  
The morning had gone better than he could have hoped given what he had dreaded. He's spent half the night, after watching Jules drift into wonderfully oblivious slumber, simply studying the woman that he had not thought possible of such incredible passion. Yet his body, humming with passion spent, had attested to the kind of pleasure she had brought about in him. Then awaking this morning to the simple sweet contentment of having her in his arms... it was unexpected. He's never felt so in high spirits at waking.   
  
And then she realized what had happened. Most men would probably find it rather defeating to wake to a woman nervous as hell and trying to find a quiet calm way to extract herself from an awkward position. But Matt had other ideas, which was why he had teased her so.   
  
Standing up, he looked about for his clothes and discovered that they were in sore need of ironing. But one must not complaint of such silly little things. He was only glad that he had some spare clothes in the office, or he would not be fit to see anyone today. He'll have to see about getting pass the attending nurses until he can get changed. Oh lordy, what gossips will arise if they should... well, the gossip is going to start even if no one sees him.   
  
Finding eggs, some bacon he was obliged to toss out, milk and bread in the frig, a trick he'll have to learn, he was quick in making French toast he hoped she would enjoy. And while the coffee maker dripped, creating a heavenly aroma, Matt considered his options.   
  
First of all, he knew that he was not the settling down type, at least not at his age. But no one said that this was going to be a til-death-do-you-part kind of thing. Second, he enjoyed Jules Keating's company more than any other female he's ever had the pleasure of being with. He was just selfish enough to not want to give up that companionship so quickly. And the tried and true method of relationships has always been said to be budding from friendship to something else. What the something else would have to be defined at a later date. And third... well after last evening, he was more than a little interested in exploring the more intimate part of their relationship once more.   
  
"Hi." He turned just as Jules, wrapped in a fluffy blue terry robe, came through the bedroom door shy and unsure of herself and feeling quite silly to be feeling silly cause it was her apartment after all. "What did you make?"  
  
He grinned at her, unabashedly admiring the sweet picture she made all cleanly scrubbed and bashful. "French toast, but I couldn't find any powdered sugar."  
  
She came forward, hesitated for a moment before leaning over him to open the cupboard just above his head and pulled out a glass container. "Powder sugar."  
  
Catching her hand, he brought it to his lips knowing the effect it would have on her and wanting to see it. "Sweet."   
  
Jumping almost out of her skin and blushing to the point where her freckles disappeared, she pulled away to set the table.  
  
Chuckling without the least bit of shame, he followed with a cup of java for her. As they sat down across from one another on the little dining room table, he noticed that she was careful to keep her robe tightly pulled to her chin and belted into a square knot. After a few moment of tense silence, "Jules..."  
  
"Matt..." she began at the same time then blushed again when he grinned at her.   
  
"I don't regret it," he said not giving her a chance to contradict him. "In fact, I rather enjoyed it a little more than you or I had intended to."  
  
She seemed to be blushing a lot this morning. Putting down her fork, she folded her head in her lap. "I shouldn't have..."  
  
"Don't," stopping her to the quick. "I already said that I didn't regret it for a moment. In fact... Jules..." It was one thing to have the perfect words in one's mind, but totally another to voice them. "I'd like to give us a try."  
  
That certainly got her attention. "Excuse me?"  
  
"Us," indicting the space between them. Matt tilted his head and looked at her. "I won't say that the thought of the two of us is... conventional. But we... we're good together. Friends, colleagues... I'd like it to be more now. Have the idea in the back of my mind for some time now, never expressed it cause..." he grinned at her. "We were having such an easy time, I didn't want to ruin it."   
  
Jules nodded her head with understanding. "Crossing that invisible line is kind of...intimidating."   
  
"I think we've well blew up the line and any boarders that may have existed last evening," he chuckled as he sipped his coffee and leaned back in his seat more than inclined to just sit there and stare at her for a while. "This is good. I can get use to being able to wake up and not feel the urge to run for the hills when the woman next to me in my bed turns to look at me."   
  
Stacking her hand in front of her, Jules studied him for a moment. By all indications, he was serious about this... this whole thing. Matt Slingerland was actually initiating an honest to god relationship with all the commitments involved. Or maybe... "Matt, are you saying that you want to...date?"  
  
"Surprised, luv? Honestly, you cannot be as astonished by this turn of events as I am," he grinned. "And yes, this will be a monogamous relationship. I do not share my lovers."   
  
Nodding her head slowly, Jules considered it for a moment. True, she's never felt as freely with a man as she was with Matt. There was something about him that just...She didn't feel the need to try to make a good impression. There was no need for it. It was kind of nice. "All right."  
  
"All right?" he asked cautiously, not sure what to make of the all-too-serious expression on her usually cheery face. "That means..."  
  
"It means that I agree with you," she leaned forward, looking him straight in the eyes. "We should give us a try. What's the worse that can happen?"  
  
"Hum..." he mockingly considered the question.  
  
"Shut up!" reaching over the hit him lightly on the arm.   
  
Laughing, he grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. The kiss was lightly, friendly and sweet. And was over before Jules had a chance to react. When all she did was stay where she was, hovering over the table, eyes closed, he grinned in reaction. "Oh, I can definitely get use to this."  
  
Tasting her lips for a moment, she slowly sat back down. "Um... Matt?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Opening her eyes, she bit her lips tentatively. "I don't think that it would be wise for us to go blabbing it around the hospital about this."  
  
That caught him off guard. "Jules, I have no intention of having some sort of secret affairs with you."   
  
"No, that's not what I meant." She wrinkled her nose and studied her plate for a moment. "You have a reputation, one that you have cultivated and never denied. It's pretty much all over the hospital that you have dated quite a few staff members. I work at that hospital, as a resident. These are people that I have worked long and hard to earn the respect of." She looked imploringly at him. "I do not want to be known as Matt Slingerland's newest flirt in a long string of..."  
  
"I got it," he replied, wincing at how it sounded even to him. For once, he cursed himself for having a libido that needed seriously curbing. "And I got your point. All right then... no talking about us."  
  
"And no public displays," she added.  
  
He considered it. "How about private ones? Your office, my office, a storage closet somewhere?"  
  
She threw her napkin at him. "Your impossible."  
  
Laughing, he picked up their plates. "And we're going to be late for work if we don't get a move on it."  
  
"Oh god," she groaned and got up slowly. "You going to drive me?"  
  
"We'll enter by separate entrances," he assured her. "The garage has several after all."  
  
"Good," picking up her pants and blouse from the day before. "How are you going to explain why you're still in the same..."  
  
"I've got spares in the office. The overcoat should cover me enough until I get changed," he answered, running water into the sink. "When are you off tonight?"  
  
"Six. You?"  
  
"Six thirty, shall we meet for dinner?"  
  
"My place, I'll order Chinese."  
  
"Extra sweet and sour pork."  
  
"Okay," going to the bedroom before pausing for a moment, back tracking to the couch. She stared at the sofa for a moment.   
  
"What is it?" drying his hands and the plates at the same time.   
  
"Um..." she tried to remember. Really tried to remember. "What kind of protection were we using last night?"  
  
Matt groaned. "You're not on the pill?"  
  
She looked at him. "What does that mean?"  
  
"Nothing," he replied quickly, knowing that some women were very sensitive about whose responsibility it was to take care of certain things. "Of course you weren't, you were trying to freeze fertile eggs not two months ago." He sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "We didn't use any."  
  
"Use any what?" dreading the answer.  
  
"Condoms," he answered slowly, feeling like an idiot. "I'm sorry. I lost my head last evening."  
  
She swallowed the uneasiness in the pit of her stomach but was quick to dismiss it. "It takes two tango. And I highly doubt that we're that unlucky. After all, there was a reason I was trying to freeze my eggs, right?"  
  
"Right," nodding his head reassuringly but his smile at her had its doubts to that particular reasoning. "Why don't you get dressed, luv? We need to get going."  
  
"Right," nodding her head and backing slowly toward the bedroom once more. "Um... do you need another shirt or something? Maybe a hooded sweatshirt just to get to the hospital?"  
  
He thought about it for a moment. "Sure, if you have anything that'll fit me..."   
  
She smiled almost wistfully. "I think I have one of Josh's buttons downs in the closet. You're a little taller but I think it'll fit until you get to the hospital and change."  
  
"Great."  
  
"Matt?"  
  
"Yeah?" as he prepared to load the dishwasher.  
  
Hesitating, "Don't hurt me, okay?"  
  
He looked at her, full of uncertainty but determination. "I don't intend to... and never intentionally." His hand stilled on the dishes for a moment before turning his back to her. "It works both way, you know."  
  
"I know," her eyes blinked. "I wouldn't."  
  
He nodded and searched the sink area for dishwashing detergent. "Jules, I know that we're very different and that this has the potential of blowing up in our faces. And lord knows that no matter how hard we try to hide this from our co-workers, someone is going to find out sooner or later, and then we'll be in for one bumpy ride. But I was serious when I said that I wanted a chance at this." He laughed softly, running water to cleanse the plates. "This is new to me."  
  
"We're all new at this," she whispered as she approached him slowly. Wrapping her arms around him from behind, she pressed her cheek against his back. She glad that he was so tall, it made her feel so deliciously feminine. "But this is going to work out, I know it."   
  
Matt smiled as his hand went to hers, enjoying the comfortable warmth of her presence. "Yeah, me too."  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"So Letty went to bat for Dr. Kokoris, huh? That's new."  
  
Harriet glanced at Dr. Brennan over her half moon glasses. "Is it? She's never one to sit back and let something like this slide. Granted, I heard she was pissed as hell over what he did but she couldn't deny that fact that man is a brilliant doctor and he was right about the diagnosis. And Terry should have listened to the opinions of her peers instead of playing guard dog to her own wallet. If that old battle axe had just..."  
  
Rae burst into laughter. "Battle Axe?"  
  
"What would you call her?"  
  
"You beside witch and another word that rhythms with that?"   
  
"See," Harriet made another notation in the papers she had been reviewing. "Medication is no place for arrogant stubbornness. People and lives depend on us. And Letty knew it."  
  
"Well I am glad she did," Rae replied as studied her friend. "Harriet?"  
  
"Yes?" distractedly.  
  
"Has Jules said anything to you about her relationship with Slingerland?"  
  
Harriet set her pen down. "Not really. But then again, she very seldom talks about her social life. Who she dates is none of my business. If she choices to see Matt Slingerland outside the scoop of her capacity here as a doctor, who are we to say no."   
  
"And you don't find it just a little disturbing?" Rae asked as she leaned back in her chair.  
  
"I think that we need to stay focused on what is important," Harriet pointed out as she sipped the tea that has been sitting on her desk for too long now. "And that is Jules's happiness. I don't see any indication that Matt is abusing her emotions and I don't see why we need to interfere."  
  
"And you think Slingerland's...fondness for Jules will last?" Rae asked, frowning with concern as she rested her elbows on the chair arms and brought her hands to her chin.   
  
"Other than the one night we saw them together and the numerous rumors and half-truths that seem so prominent in the nursing staffs' daily activities, I have yet to see any signs of a defined relationship, other than friendship." She recalled the three in the morning phone conversation with Slingerland at Jules's apartment... but they had both offered a plausible explanation for that one.   
  
"Yeah but we've all seen some hints or other that the two of them have been seeing a lot more of one another in the recent weeks. You can't deny that."  
  
"Why the sudden interest in Jules's love life?"  
  
"Since she began to have one again," Rae replied with a grin. "I'm just worried about her, that's all. I don't want to see her hurt."  
  
"I don't think she will be. She's got a good solid head on her shoulder. Plus she had the added benefit of knowing exactly what Matt Slingerland is like before hand. Even if she is involved with him, she would be walking into it with her eyes wide open. No one can offer her more protection than that."  
  
"I suppose you're right." She sighed and prepared to do her rounds. "I just hope she knows what she's doing." Thank with a quick wave of her hand, headed out to see her patients.  
  
"Me too," Harriet replied to no one as she picked up her glasses to look over the charts in front of her. "Me too."   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Okay, that was probably a little mushy for most but hey, whatever works to move this story along. 


	11. Chapter 11

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: Oh how easily things get out of hand.   
  
Rating: Switching back to PG-13 but because of the last chapter, I should keep it at R. Hey, if more than two people tell me that I'm overreacting; I change it back to PG-13.   
  
Note: There is some time passage here. Pay real close attention and you may realize just how long it's been. But if you haven't guessed it by the end of the chapter, than it really wasn't that important to begin with. Just know that some time has passed since the last chapter and this one.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 11  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"What about breakfast?" Matt asked, looping the tie into the place and tugging it firmly around the starched collar. He grinned at the mirror as the bright yellow and red piece stood out glaringly bright against the light blue button down. Jules had picked it out for him two days before and he hadn't had the heart to tell her how out of place it had looked among his stately blues, burgundy and grays ties chosen for the purpose of presenting a professional air. But in retrospect, he rather like the cheery little piece, reminded him much of the woman that picked it out. Gave him cheery moments throughout the day every time he looked at it. "You should at least have one of those ghastly power bars the nursing staff practically live on, for I know you have a box hidden somewhere around here."  
  
"I don't have time," Jules replied as she hopped on one foot and attempted to insert her other foot into the white soft leather pumps in her hand. "I told Harriet that I would cover this meeting and I'm already ten minutes behind schedule. I'll grab something when I get in."   
  
"No you won't," he predicted with a grin as he caught her around the waist from behind and pulled her into his embrace for a moment to kiss her temple. He rather liked these little intimate moments alone together in her apartment. They hardly ever get an opportunity to see, much less touch, in the hospital. Of course, that could change if they weren't so determined to keep the rest of the hospital staff out of their affairs. So far, it appears to be working nicely. "You'll get there, have your meeting, then start your rounds and forget all about the most important meal of the day."  
  
"I'm hardly a child, I know what I need to do to stay healthy," she replied with a laugh. She was amazingly happy with their relationship. The nightly light bantering after a long day, the massive take-outs in the evening because neither of them have the energy to cook and the big healthy breakfast Slingerland insists on making every morning. "And today, staying healthy means not pissing Harriet off by being late for this meeting." She hugged his arms around her for another moment before pulling away. "I'll give you my keys and you can lock up, okay?" She paused for a moment, staring at her keys. Perhaps it was time to make another set... just to have a spare set around, not to... you know.   
  
"Why don't I take you to work? I'll drop you off in the garage then go home and pick up some clothes for the rest of the week," when she frowned at him, he nodded his head encouragingly. "It's early yet, no one will see us together."  
  
Jules tilted her head, "You know what I just realized?"  
  
"What?" grabbing his coat and handing her hers.   
  
"I've never been to your house. In fact, I don't think you've ever invited me there in the whole time that we've known each other."  
  
Matt paused in straightening his coat collar. "You know, I believe you're right."  
  
She stared at him for a moment, no longer in a hurry to leave. "Why do you think that is?"  
  
He actually considered it, just simply stood there for a moment and thought about the idea. Why hadn't she been to his place yet? Dismissing the nagging whisper that said that he was afraid of the commitment, he forged on ahead. "I guess it's because it never acquired to me to ask." He's never been big on bringing his lovers home with him in the past. But this one was different. He studied her thoughtful face for a moment. "All right then, why don't you pack up a bag and come home with me tonight?"  
  
Her heart lifted fearfully for a moment. "Matt, I didn't say it cause I was angling for an invitation. I was just making an observation."  
  
Shaking his head, "And I didn't invite you cause of some sense guilt or fear that you were angry with me. I asked cause I wanted to," and surprisingly enough, he did. He'd love to see how she would look sitting in his living room, watching old movies, eating overly buttered popcorn and cuddling with him on the sofa as they have done numerous times in her living room. "Come home with me."  
  
Hesitating, Jules shook her head. "No, let's finish out the week here cause I don't have time to pack now. And we'll spend the weekend at your place, okay?"  
  
For a brief moment, he was oddly disappointed. "Of course, you'll pack tonight and we came be there tomorrow night." He pocketed his keys as she double check the thermometer. "Shall we?"  
  
As she left the front door, she turned to him. "If anyone asks..."  
  
"I saw you at the bus stop and gave you a ride out of the goodness of my heart." He repeated with a nod. He grinned at her. "Just lending you a friendly hand right?"  
  
Rolling her eyes, "Last time I lend you a friendly hand at something, look where I ended up." She leaned up and gave him a butterfly salute to his cheek before heading toward the parking. "Not that I'm complaining."  
  
Standing there, feeling rather giddy at that tiny innocent touch of the lips, "Oh, I most assuredly am not."   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"No way! I thought it was all over."   
  
"So did I. Haven't heard anything in that department for some time now but Wanda in Billings said that she saw them together in the garage this morning. He dropped her off, at six in the morning."  
  
"Six?" came the wide-eyed question.   
  
"Yup," nodded knowingly. "And he didn't come in again until nearly quarter to nine for his rounds."  
  
"Oh.... So there were just keeping a low profile for a while."   
  
"Looks like Dr. Slingerland finally learned the word discretion."   
  
Nick Kokoris tried to keep his composure as he filled out the patient's chart in front of him and pretended not to be listening in on the gossiping duel at the nurses' station. Unfortunately, the titillating details of his colleagues' lives were just a little more fascinating than Mr. Charlesworthy's gallstones. Besides which, he needed to catch up on the happening in the hospital during his absence.   
  
Just as his curiosity was about to get the better of him, something bright and cheerful appeared out of the corner of his eyes. Just the person he wanted to see.   
  
"Dr. Keating!" Nick snapped the clipboard closed and dropped it into the large wire basket by the nurses' station for refilling before hurrying to catch up with the young pediatrician as she came into view then disappeared again round the corner. The two nurses both turned and tried to catch a glimpse of their subject.   
  
"Dr. Kokoris," Jules turned and greeted the Greek doctor with her usual dazzling smile. "What's up?"  
  
"You paged me for a consult earlier and I hadn't had time to get back to you until now," he said walking along side her down the long corridor toward the pediatrics' ward.   
  
"Oh yes," picking up on that line of thought. "I heard you were back but wasn't use if you'd be on duty." She peeked at him out of the corner of her eyes, "Heard Letty is extracting some revenge in her own manner."  
  
"If you mean having me place double duty shifts to make up for all the surgeons having to cover for me during my absence, then yes. Dr. Jordan is most assuredly extracting her revenge upon me," he answered disgruntled.   
  
Jules laughed and looked through the stack of charts in her arms. "Well welcome back and feel free to jump right in," handing him a thick chart. "Thirteen year old with a heart murmur. Looks like the aortic flap fixed at birth came open again. Came in complaining of shortness of breath, fainting spells and extreme fatigue. I paged Letty for a consult at one-thirty. Can you make it?"  
  
"One thirty?" he glanced at his watch and did a quick calculation of his schedule. "Yeah, I'll be there." He glanced at the young doctor beside him and how she was already jumping back into another chart. "Why don't we talk about this patient over lunch? I'll buy." The girl looked like she could use a couple of healthy meals.   
  
"Can't," she said regretfully. "I had an emergency case come in this morning, pushed my entire schedule back by at least an hour. I've got patients lined all the way through my lunch break."   
  
"You need to eat, Dr. Keating." He watched as she dropped several of the charts at the nurses' station and headed toward the exam rooms.   
  
"I'll nibble on some stuff later," pushing that door open with her back and hip, she smiled at him. "Thanks for offering though, Dr. Kokoris, see you at one-thirty room P-16."   
  
"I'll be there," Nick replied. "And it's Nick."  
  
She nodded her head. "Okay Nick. See you later," before disappearing into the room.   
  
Shaking his head, Nick headed toward the cafeteria just as an exhausted Dr. Collette made an appearance. "Hello, you look like hell."  
  
"Thanks," she replied dryly as she ran a quick hand through her hair. "I had three Botoxes and consult on a chin job this morning. That woman had more chins on her neck than most CEOs have portfolios." She shook her head and sighed. "I so did not go through four years of medical school, three years of residency and two years of internship for this."   
  
Taking pity on the poor frustrated woman, Nick offered the file in his hand. "I have a kid with a heart problem since birth. Jules and Dr. Jordan want me in as consult. I'll trade you."  
  
"Kid with a heart defect?" she asked, suddenly alert once more. "No thanks. Give me fat ladies with triple chins any day."   
  
Feeling the laugher deep in his chest, he gave into the urge.   
  
Jackie looked at him sideways. "You sound good when you do that. Should think about doing it more often."  
  
"Thanks you," he replied and leaned against the elevator wall it took them to the cafeteria. "Have you heard that latest?"  
  
"On?"  
  
"Dr. Keating and Dr. Slingerland," he really couldn't resist sharing.  
  
Jackie instantaneously perked up. "Oh... share."  
  
"Brought her in this morning at six. Someone in Billings saw them together."  
  
"I knew it!" she stuck a finger at him. "I knew all that cool, professional attitude those two have been enacting toward each other lately had to be an act. No one is that formal with a colleague."  
  
"Hum... the nurses would agree with you."  
  
"Eavesdropping?" amused.  
  
"One hardly has to when they were spoke in plan and concise tones."   
  
She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "Oh, this is going to be good. I was wondering when the good juicy stuff was going to start up again."   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Matt Slingerland marched down the corridor in a less than merry manner without any regards to the absolute fear he was installing in the hearts of every nurse who had the misfortune of being on staff working under him that day. Pausing briefly at the receptionist desk, he barked out at Anita, "Where the bloody hell is Dr. Keating?!?"  
  
Pointing west, Anita took a quick step back from the counter. "Office."  
  
Swinging around, he glared at the pair of male nurses who had returned from checking on patients and was on their way to return the patients' charts to the nurses' station. Seeing death rays from Slingerland's eyes, they were quick to jump out of his way as he stalked toward Jules Keating's office.  
  
Ignoring the harsh whispers of inquiry behind him, Slingerland opened up the office door without preamble. Jules was sitting behind her desk with Kokoris casually leaning against her chair, looking over her shoulders at papers scattered all over her work space. Both of them looked up as the door opened. Keeping his teeth tightly clinched so as not to yell, "Keating, may I have a moment of your time?"  
  
Glancing down at the startled Dr. Keating, Kokoris slowly straightened his stance. "Is something wrong, Dr. Slingerland?"  
  
"No, no," Matt reassured him with a locked jaw. "Nothing a consultation and discussion with Dr. Keating won't cure."   
  
Uncertain of the circumstances that brought about what looked to be the beginning of a violent outburst, Kokoris chose to stay where he was until told other wise. "I'm afraid Dr. Keating and I are in the middle of a consultation at the moment. Perhaps..."  
  
"It's okay," Jules said putting out a hand to stop Kokoris, since it was apparently making Slingerland only angrier by the minutes. "We're done here anyways."  
  
"Are you sure?" Nick asked, not taking his eyes off of Slingerland who was still standing at the door, gripping the doorknob violently.   
  
"Yeah," came the reassurance as she pushed Kokoris toward the door. "You'll schedule the OR for tomorrow?"  
  
"I'd like to start first thing in the morning. Nine if I can get the OR, ten at the latest. We'll do the final observations this afternoon. Four-thirty?" When she nodded, he smiled. "All right then, I'll page Dr. Jordan for the consult." He replied, as he is nudge toward the doorway. A hint of apprehension for the petite doctor had him hesitating at the door, as she tried to push him gently through it. "Dr. Keating..."  
  
"Jules," she reminded him gently as she continued to urge him out. "And it'll be all right. Don't worry," nodding her head, she shut the door in his concerned face.  
  
Turning about, she glared at Slingerland. "What the hell was that all about?"  
  
Grinning from ear to ear, Slingerland caught her around the waist and kissed her full on the mouth. After several heart stopping moments, he pulled away from a resounding smack. "Mother was right, could have become an actor had I really wanted to be one." Pulling her toward the serpent on the floor, he glanced over his shoulders at her. "What was all that about with Kokoris?"   
  
Staring at him as if he's gone out of his mind, she resisted for a moment when he tried to tug her into his lap on the floor. "That was work. You know, something we do around here. What the hell were you doing?"  
  
"Putting on a good show for the gossiping bystanders," he replied, reaching out with both arms to bring her down into his embrace and settled her comfortably on his thighs. Inhaling the light powdery fragrance that she wore regularly, he hugged her reassuringly, waiting for the reaction.  
  
The words took a moment to register in her mind. "Oh no, don't tell me...."  
  
"Sorry, luv," he replied sympathetically, dropping a kiss on her temple. "But looks like the word is out on the grapevines."   
  
Groaning, she covered her face with her hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Oh god, what are they saying?"  
  
"Well," he began, more amused than upset over the whole affair. "There appears to be some sort of controversy or disagreement over the nature of our relationship."  
  
Peeking through spread fingers, "What does that mean?"   
  
"Well, I was in the locker room..."  
  
"What were you doing there?"  
  
"Is that important?" he asked with a shrug. "I had a book in my bags I wanted to get. Anyways, a couple of the male nurses entered. There was an bet of some sort about length in which our relationship would last."  
  
"Oh god," this was worse than she thought.  
  
"Of course, every one of them would have lost by now since they were betting on pathetically short time periods," he replied resting his head on hers. "Two of them were convinced that we were merely having a mild flirtatious interaction."  
  
Jules considered that for a moment. "That's not bad."  
  
"No, it's not. One of them is convinced we are... what was that phrased he used again?" he tilted his head and tried to recall. "Oh yes. He was convinced that we were, and I quote, 'boning each other's brains out,' end quote."  
  
Wincing, she wondered how she was ever supposed to look at any of the male nurses in the face again after that comment.   
  
"The fourth was a romantic," he continued, rubbing her back with his firm soothing hand. "He believed that we were dating. Actual dating with flowers and candies." He grinned with delight at that imagine. "Have I ever brought you floras and sweets?"   
  
Dropping her hands, she glared at him for making light of the situation at hand. "No, but I think the massive amount of Chinese food you bring to my place more than makes up for that." Sighing, she tilted her head and played with the button on his shirt. "What are we going to do?"  
  
"Do?" he asked, covering her hand with his own before she managed to remove a button. It would difficult to explain away. "Anything we do to dissuade the masses that we are not together would only reinforce their belief."  
  
"And that little display just now?"  
  
Slingerland grinned evilly at her. "That was just for fun! Besides, I heard you were spending much too much time with Kokoris."  
  
Jules raised a brow. "Jealous?"  
  
"Of that arrogant Greek Neanderthal? Hardly," he scoffed.  
  
"Really?" she asked, her sly smiled coming into play. "You know the nurses think that he's quite a hunk with a very nicely developed ass."  
  
He glared at her. "What are you doing staring at his rear, might one ask?"  
  
Batting her eyes playfully, "But where else would I look when he is in such proximity? Perhaps those sensually dark eyes that positively ooze sexual prowess?" She placed a finger on his lips, learning their shape by touch. "Or maybe those soft lips that just melts the fluttering heart and create fantasy where he would..." She gasped as he bent her over nearly onto her back, forcing her to cling to him for support.   
  
"Minx," he kissed her firmly on the lips with enough possessiveness to curl her toes. When she finally relaxed in his arms, he reluctantly got up, bringing her slowly to her feet. "I have to get back to my rounds, as should you I might add. Meet me in parking structure after work?"  
  
"When do you get off again?" straightening her clothes out.  
  
"Six. You?"  
  
"Same but I don't expect either one of us out of here before seven," she grinned and got behind her desk one more. "Want me to throw something at you to make your little entrance play out?"  
  
"Sure," pointing at the blue teddy bear. "How about Teddy?"  
  
"How about an otter?" she said holding up the little stuff animal by its tail like a club.   
  
He grinned at the adorable picture she made with the light streaming in from the windows bringing the red highlights in her hair into play. "Sure. How is your aim?"  
  
"Girls softball team, three years in varsity," she boosted getting ready for the throw. "Duck when you open the door."  
  
"See you later luv," he said before he opened the door and ducked just as the otter hit the door just above his head. As impressed by her aim and timing as he was, he did not stick around to see the reaction from the nursing staff. But judging by the slack jawed expressions he managed to catch before getting to the elevators, he would have been hard pressed not to burst into laughter.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Ignoring the twinge in her stomach, Dr. Keating forced herself to pay attention to the details Dr. Jordan and Dr. Kokoris were firing rapidly at one another regarding their mutual patient. Wishing she had taken the time to nibble on something in the afternoon, Jules hoped that she would get a quick five-minute break to search out a chocolate bar somewhere for energy. Exhaustion and lack of food was making her slightly dizzy.   
  
"We'll start the IV tonight and work it through until morning," Kokoris announced signing the instructions and handing it to a nurse without giving it another thought.  
  
"I'll want to observe," Jordan put in as she glanced at the small delicate patient in the room. "They seem to get younger and younger every year."   
  
"The observation deck is where I assume you'll want to watch from and not over my shoulders," Nick commented as they walked down the corridor together, headed for their next patient, a seven year old with a heart murmur.   
  
"I wouldn't dream of interfering with your brilliance," Letty replied dryly picking up the patient's chart as they passed the nurses' station. "Jules, you said that the father signed the constant for operation but the mother has objections?"  
  
Shaking her head, Jules turned to look at the cardiologist. "Which patient are we talking about?"   
  
"Maggie Keegan?" with a frown. It wasn't like Jules to space out in the middle of a consult. "You all right?"  
  
"Yeah," she replied breezily even thought the sickening heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach was beginning to take more concentration to ignore. "Maggie's got a underdeveloped aortic valve that was never treated properly. She's been in and out of hospitals since birth. Mother is one of nature girls that want everything to be natural. Father wants to save his daughter."  
  
"Are we going to get objections from the mother?" Nick asked as Dr. Jordan handing him the cardiogram read outs.   
  
"No, I think that no matter what, she is more than willing to do what it takes to save her little girl. No matter what kind of lip service she gives to her beliefs."   
  
"Good, the last thing this hospital needs is a scandal involving naturalists," Letty replied.  
  
"Her signs are getting weaker," Nick observed as she flipped through the nursing charts. "We'll have to go in soon. Can we do it in the afternoon?"  
  
"Cutting it close," Letty replied pointing to the next page. "No writing on the allergy section. Someone better find out before we give her anything."  
  
"I'll take care of it." Jules leaned over and looked over Nick's shoulder, than immediately regretted it, as the movement seemed to give her tunnel vision. Grabbing the wall, she stopped for a moment feeling weak and more than dizzy now.  
  
Turning back at her abrupt stop, Nick grabbed her elbow when she swayed just enough to give him alarm. "Dr. Keating?"  
  
"Just little light headed," she replied, blinking her eyes rapidly to push back the darkness that threatened to extinguish her peripheral vision. But even as she said the words, she heard the almost deafening roar of blood rushing in her ears. "Oh crap," she only experienced it once before, senior year of college, but it was not something she was likely to forget. "I think I'm about to faint," just before the darkness overtook her.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Just moving the plot along. 


	12. Chapter 12

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: A whole new can of worms is about to be opened. But first, let's throwing some thing in the air.  
  
Rating: PG-13 on this chapter.   
  
Note: Okay, I'm no doctor so any kind of medical term is either from something I heard or just plain made up. Don't flame me for it. On and I know that holidays are over but I need you to stay with the timeline. And that means that Thanksgiving has just passed. Thank you for your cooperation in this little timeline matter.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 12  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Your workload is beginning to look ridiculous," Dr. Calloway grunted in disgust as he flipped through the lists of materials he's barely had to time to look through for these bimonthly staff meetings. "Kellerman, take over some of them will you. I don't want the hospital sued when Slingerland end up falling asleep on the job from over working himself."  
  
"Can't help it if my patients are loyal," Matt answered with a grin as he handed over some of his scheduled appointments of the day to Kellerman.   
  
"And more often than not female," Calloway replied with a look. "You know hospital rules about doctor/patient relationships."  
  
"I know it by heart since everyone keep quoting it to me at ever meeting," Slingerland grinned cheekily. "And don't worry, I have not cross the lines once. Nor will I. I kind of like my hide the way it is. And the brass will take a stripe of it if I ever do."  
  
"From what I hear, you may not have cross any of the doctor/patient rules, but you haven't really been paying much attention to the rules about dating among the staff."  
  
"Didn't know there was any," and he would know since he did try to find any that may have existed. Contrary to popular opinion, he does not live to buck the authority.   
  
"None that are written but that could change," Calloway warned, glaring at him. Even the crusty head of Internal Medicine have heard the recent rumors that were flying in and out of all the departments. Of those, are only the most recent ones involving the British physician, but the only ones that involved a fellow doctor.   
  
"Then I hope that one foolish enough to do make such a real be prepared for the fight of their lives because I doubt the Drs. Jordan are going to take it too lightly."   
  
A disapproving grunt came again before Calloway moved on to all the other necessary materials to go over with the fellow doctors, including rotation shifts and nursing staff notes that were not being pay enough attention to.   
  
When the meeting disbursed, Slingerland left feeling rather light hearted. His workload had been lightened considerably, which meant he might actually have time to catch up on his paperwork during the day instead of trying to come in during the weekends or early in the morning, such have displeased Jules more than once now.   
  
Making a note to pick up food before he took Jules home with him for the weekend, since there was only beer and olives left in his refrigerator, Matt drop most of his meeting materials back in his office before sitting down to finish some notes on his last patient. Glancing down, he spotted his bright tie and grinned. Maybe he could pick up some flowers too. He noticed that no matter how busy Jules got, there was always fresh flowers in her apartment. Where she got the time to go look for flowers was beyond him.   
  
Whistling, he walked to the receptionist area ready for his next patient just as the elevator door dinged open and Dr. Kokoris burst into internal medicine carrying an unconscious Dr. Keating in his arms. "I need a gurney over here!"  
  
"Someone call hematology and tell them to prepare for a rush blood works," Letty ordered as she kept up with Kokoris's long legged stride and kept Jules's head leveled.   
  
Three of the nurse rushed forward as Slingerland stood there stunned and stupefied for a moment before rushing forward to help the two doctors strap Jules into the rolling bed. "What the bloody hell happened?"  
  
"If we knew, we wouldn't be so freaked out!" Letty yelled back as they rolled the gurney into a curtained around.   
  
Jules groaned and flipped her eyes for a moment as Kokoris took her wrist, his eyes deadly calm. "Keep still," as he flashed a flashlight into her eyes to watch for reactions.   
  
"Oh... what happened?" reaching up to rub her forehead for a moment.  
  
"You fainted," Letty replied as she took her blood pressure. "Can you tell me how you're feeling right now?"  
  
"Besides ridiculous?" Jules replied pulling her arm from Kokoris, who was rolling up her sleeves to take blood for a full workup. "Stop that. I'm okay."  
  
"People that are okay aren't carried in here like a rag doll," Slingerland snapped sharply at her as he took her pulse himself.   
  
"Jules..." Letty reminded her.  
  
"I'm fine," pulling her arm back against when Kokoris made to take blood again. "I just got light headed cause I didn't eat like I knew I should have." She avoided both Kokoris and Slingerland's accusing eyes.  
  
"What happened to nibbling on something?" Kokoris asked dryly, giving up on taking her blood since she was pretty much determined to keep that from happening.   
  
"What happened to 'I'll get something later?' you loopy woman," Matt hissed as he dug into his back pocket and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. "Margaret, I need a favor please."  
  
"Yes, doctor?" came the petite little nurse eagerly.   
  
"Go down to the cafeteria and get a small salad with Italian dressing; a sandwich, chicken or turkey, no tuna or ham; if they have ice cream, get strawberry or vanilla, no other favors, she doesn't like any others and get some gelatin if they don't have ice cream; whole milk and juice, apple or cranberry, no orange or grape or grapefruit. Thank you, Margaret." He turned back to Jules as Margaret stared rather stunned for a moment before scrambling to do as he had asked. "You!"  
  
"Don't yell," Jules begged, her eyes sad and pathetic.  
  
Sighing, Matt shook his head at her and counted to ten. "You'll eat every bite before you do anything else."  
  
"I have patients," trying to keep the whining out of her tone.  
  
"Not any more," Letty frowned disapprovingly at her. "I'll have them move all your appointments. As of now, you 'are' a patient."  
  
"'My' patient since you are in my department," Slingerland pointed out. "And you're not going anywhere until I'm satisfied that you are not going to collapse on us." He double-checked her eyes and tongue, all the while glaring at her. "Scared us, Jules. Scared me."  
  
"I'm sorry," she muttered as she glanced at a rather amused Dr. Jordan standing off to the side and a watchful Dr. Kokoris who was doing nothing to hide the fact that he was listening avidly to the conversation.   
  
"Then you shouldn't have done something so foolish," he took her blood pressure once more than poured water into a glass and handing it to her. "Every last drop."  
  
"I'm be more careful next time," she replied, dutifully drinking the water.   
  
"There isn't going to be a next time," he muttered, closing his arms over his chest and studied her pale face. "From now on, you don't leave the house unless you have breakfast first. I don't care how late you are for patients or meetings, you don't leave the apartment until you get at very least toast and juice."  
  
Clearing her throat slightly, Jules gave a little nod toward their audience. "I'll try to remember that."  
  
Glancing at them, Matt dismissed their presence without a thought. There was still a heedful of steam that he hasn't yet to work off. The last thing he wanted concern with was what others thought of him. "I have to get back to my patients but you are going to stay there until Margaret gets back with your belated lunch. And yes, you will be having dinner later as well. I'll be back to check on you in a bit." He turned about and warned Kokoris as he walked by him, "She doesn't leave that bed until she's consumed every bite of what I ordered for her. Restrain her if you have to."  
  
"I'm still here you know!" Jules threw up her hand. "I can hear every word you're saying."  
  
"I know," he replied with a tight smile and more than a little anger in his eyes. He was not a happy man.  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"You okay?" Letty asked as Matt sent his patient off with a nurse to be admitted for an infected appendix. She had just left Jules under the care of Kokoris, who was warned not to be allowing the wily young doctor out of his sight. From what she observed, Slingerland appeared to be having a difficult time dealing with whatever emotions he was dealing with when Jules was brought it. "Or do you need one of those stress balls like that thick headed husband of mine does?"   
  
Putting more pressure on the pen he was using to note the chart that would follow the patient later, Slingerland tried to ignore the fact that he was beginning to create holes on the paper he was writing on. Dropping the first of several clips still in his hands into the filing basket, he motioned for Dr. Jordan to step behind a curtain. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Crossing her arms, Letty leaned back against the bed and raised one brow at him. "That little caveman act back there. Is it going to safe to allow you back into Jules's presence without you giving into the urge to shake or strangle her?"   
  
Slingerland made a noise of disgust as he pulled his hand through his hair. "The woman is a doctor for Christ sakes. She had not bloody business forgetting essential things like eating." The hiss of anger was more telling than he would have liked to believe.  
  
Letty frowned, "Scared you real bad, didn't she?"  
  
"Thought my heart was going to stop when she came in," he admitted with a sigh, reliving the terrifying moment in his mind as he closed his eyes for some semblance of control over his own emotions. "Christ, that harebrained woman is going to drive me straight to Bedlam."   
  
With a mixture of amusement and incredulity, Letty's eyes went wide. "Well, I'll be damned."   
  
"What?" turning back to Dr. Jordan as if just realizing that she was in the room.   
  
Grinning unabashed, she shook her head in disbelief. "And here I thought you and her were just flirting around."  
  
"What?" Slingerland asked again, his eyes going wide as he realized just how much he must have revealed in his distraction over Jules's lapse in judgment. "Jules and I are friends. Of course, I would be concerned for a friend."  
  
"Right," nodding her head knowingly as she rolled her eyes. "Friends."  
  
"Yes, friends," he stated once more with a little more emphasis on the word. "I'd be just as angry at you if you had been that silly."  
  
Letty made a face and pulled the curtain open. "Say what you will but I think we both know that truth."  
  
"Really?" grabbing his clips up again. He still had little more than half a dozen patience before his day was over, barring any more emergencies. "And what exactly do you think you know?"  
  
Punching the elevator button, "That Dr. Matt Slingerland does have a heart. And it is no longer exclusively reserved for his patients." As the door dinged open, "I left Kokoris with Jules. You might want to check on them later. I have patients."   
  
The door shut before Matt could make any reply; leaving him staring at he closed doors with annoyance. "Bloody hell."   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"No way!"  
  
"Totally went frantic-husband on her."  
  
"What did he do?"  
  
"Besides order someone down to the cafeteria for food? He left Dr. Keating with Dr. Kokoris. And everyone knows how he and Kokoris don't get along after that whole incident with the gangrene patient."  
  
"Whoa..." dutifully impressed now. "So you think they're like...together-together?"  
  
"Absolutely. No one is that freaked out about their 'friend' passing out in the hallway."  
  
"Think she's really pregnant?"  
  
"Could explain the fainting..."  
  
Jules winced and buried her head in her hand, ignoring the jell-o still on the tray. Blessed with what her brother Josh calls dog-hearing, she had to live through more than one conversation among the gossiping nurses, who for some strange reason cannot seem to remember that curtains do not block voices.   
  
"This isn't funny," she told the patient Dr. Kokoris who was watching her with an impassive face, having heard all the wonderful conversation in the hall.   
  
"I did not say a thing," he replied quite proud of the fact that he was calm about the whole thing though he was enjoying the amount of squirming Dr. Keating was doing.   
  
"That's not what your eyes are saying."  
  
Trying but failing to hide his amusement, Nick pushed he small cup of yellow gelatin toward the patient once more. "Eat."  
  
"I hate yellow jell-o," she replied sourly, pushing the but back toward the surgeon. "Why don't you eat it?"  
  
"Because I'm not the one that starve myself to unconsciousness."  
  
Wrinkling her nose, "You make one little mistake..."  
  
Nick chuckled softly, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Your little mistake could have caused a major scandal for the hospital. What if you had been with a patient at the time?"  
  
She slanted him a look of annoyance before picking up a cube of yellow jell-o with her delicate fingers. "Advise on avoiding trouble from a guy that got suspended for butting heads with another doctor." She grinned when he winced, "Even if you were right."  
  
"No one will ever allow me to forget that, are they?" he asked coming over to sit at the foot of her bed, watching as the color slowly seeped back into her cheeks. "But seriously, Dr. Keating, you do need to be more careful about how you maintain your diet."  
  
Shaking her head in confusion, "I'm usually pretty good, and it's not like this would be the first time I've skipped more than one meal at in day to get work done. I've just never had this kind of blacking out stuff when I'm hungry. It's unusual."  
  
Nick nodded his head, taking what she said for the truth. Jules Keating appeared to be a healthy young woman that should not have reacted so adversely to a skipped meal or two. And the tough rumors that circulated the halls of the hospital would have him believing that her petite figure would soon be gaining a new roundness, he was confident that she would have mentioned it by now if it were true. "You had surgery not too long ago, correct?"  
  
A memory she did not want to relive, "Yes, a biopsy."   
  
"That could explain the weaken state of your health," he nodded to himself, mentally going through a litany of possible consequences of a biopsy. "What has your workload been..." he shook his head at that particularly silly question. "Of course you've been loaded."  
  
"Fall season, all kinds of flues and colds tend to come up. Add to those the array of unexpected emergencies, like Billy's gallbladder, Dorothy Ann's trigger-happy dad, Kenny's exploding tonsils, Maggie's heart defect..."  
  
"I get the point," pressing hand to her forehead, he studied her pale face. "When was the last time you had blood work done?"  
  
"Before and after my biopsy. Clean bill of health," she replied, pushing the hand away. "Plus I went through a whole lot of tests when I was preparing to freeze some eggs."  
  
That was an unexpected piece of news. "I beg your pardon."  
  
"Cancer of the ovary patients usually have some of their eggs cryogenically frozen when they're in remission. Assuming they still have their ovaries left. That way they can still have their own biological children in the future."   
  
"And you did it," he grinned, amused and impressed at the same time. "The procedure causes a hormone imbalance for a period of time during and after; a side effect that you are no doubt aware of. May have compromised your immune system."   
  
"A definite possibility," she agreed reluctantly.  
  
"Possibility of what?" Slingerland wanted to know as he strolled in, her chart in hand and frowning at the neat cubes of jell-o still wiggling on her plate as she continued to poke at them with her forefinger. "Stop playing with your food. And didn't I tell you to eat everything?"  
  
She scowled at him. "It's yellow."  
  
"Yellow is every bit as palatable as red."  
  
"Then you eat it," she challenged. "Can I get back to work now?"  
  
"Not until I do a quick exam," he informed her in what he hoped to be a most reasonable tone though he was still tempted to strangle her for giving him such a fright.   
  
Kokoris was wise enough to know when to disappear. "Since you are in good hands now, I'll be leaving you. Plenty of patients in need of services." He paused at drawing the curtains aside. "Eat something before you come in tomorrow. I don't need you passing out on me during surgery."  
  
Waving him away, "I will, I will. Sheesh." Then sighed as Matt warmed up his scope with his hands. The barely suppress fury could be seen through every movement as he prepared an exam tray. "You might as well vent your spleen now."   
  
Tempted as he was, Matt chose the more civilized manner of displaying his displeasure; with a deadly calmness. "I would like to remind you that you are a doctor and there are patients that count on you. Neglecting yourself is hardly a good example to be showing the young moldable minds that you see everyday."  
  
Glancing as him as he took her temperature and pulse, she could see that he was still angry but doing everything in his powers to keep it all under wraps. The guilt leapt up unexpectedly. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be sorry, just don't do it again," he replied detachedly. "Breathe in and cough."  
  
Obeying, she glanced at him again. "Matt..."  
  
"I was concerned for you," he interrupted her as he put things away. "I was scared." He turned to her, the disquiet confusion on his face. "I don't like to be either of those emotions invading my life, Jules. They don't become me."  
  
"I'm sorry." She was considering having the two words tattooed to her forehead now she's repeated it so many times. "I just wasn't paying attention and I forgot about the hormone therapy and..."   
  
"The what?"  
  
"Hormone therapy. For the eggs? Plus the biopsy on my ovaries. They weakened my immune system. I guess I just... I forgot."   
  
"You for..." He took a deep breath and began to count to ten. He only got to five when, "How can you forget something like that?"  
  
"I just did," she explained, glancing at the curtains. She was sure there were a dozen nurses standing on the other side listening in. "Look, I know I was stupid about the whole thing. God knows I'm going to get hell from Letty and Harriet later today. I don't know how or why I allow this to happen. But I can assure you and I don't plan on making it a habit." Reaching over, she touched his arm. "I am really sorry that I scared you."   
  
Slingerland glanced down at the hand, those beautifully sculptured hands that he held at night as she slept in his arms. Touching him now, he looked at her, feeling vaguely soothed to know that she was all right now. "I guess you are good to go again," glancing over at the curtains, he leaned close and touched her softly on the forehead with his lips before whispering, "I'll see you later?"  
  
The smile he received was beautifully bright and full of warmth. "After work." Pressing her lips to his for a moment, she leaned back and tossed the sheets away. "I have patients to see and lives to save."  
  
"Don't over work yourself," he warned, tugging the curtains open and ignore the mad scramble of the unusually large number of nurses in the area. "And drink plenty of fluids."   
  
"Yes, doctor," she saluted him before skipping down the hall and away.   
  
Sighing, Matt had a feeling that she was going to do as she pleased, no matter what he said. And he can't say that he didn't admire her more for it.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Just passed out?" Jackie asked in disbelief.  
  
"Flopped over like a landed fish," Letty replied mildly as she completed the chart and sighed. Her back was killing her and she wanted to go home for a long hot bubble bath. Maybe she could even talk her husband into giving her a backrub. Assuming he was home.  
  
Dr. Colette gaped at her silently. "Well, what happened afterwards?"  
  
"Kokoris carried her to internal medication, where she woke up, and Slingerland ordered her food and rest. She's been running on nothing but coffee and sheer will for most of the day." Grinning, she leaned over and whispered conspiratorially. "He made a comment about her not being allowed to leave the house again without breakfast."   
  
That got a reaction, "Whose house?"  
  
"Hum.. makes one wonder, doesn't it?"  
  
Laughing, "But she's all right now."  
  
"Looks like, saw her making rounds earlier."  
  
Glancing at her watch, "It's almost seven. I thought her shift ended at six."  
  
Letty made a face at her as if she's gone stupid all of a sudden. "And when was the last time you got out of the office on time and the way you planned it?"  
  
"True." She glanced up as Slingerland made his way to the stairwell; briefcase in hand and coat slung over one arm, getting ready to call it a day. "So Slingerland and Jules really are going out?"  
  
"Looks like," watching as Slingerland disappeared into the stairwell just as Dr. Keating appeared around the corner, purse over one shoulder and jacket over the other. She looked exhausted, hurried and eager to leave. She too disappeared into the stairway. "Come on," grabbing Dr. Colette's hand and pulling her toward the stairs before the door fully closed.  
  
Jackie held her breath and grinned conspiratorially as she glanced down the stairs making her sure the heels of her shoes don't click on the concrete stairway.   
  
There was a clatter and soft laughter. "Matt, stop that."  
  
"I merely want to make sure you're all right."   
  
Another round of giggles. "Is this how you gage the condition of all your patients? Matt, stop. Someone could see us."  
  
"Relax, no one is skulking about in the stairs. No one will see."  
  
"You don't know that," she complained.   
  
"Paranoia, luv, does not become you," Slingerland's heavily accented voice could be heard moving further down the stairs. "You look positively awful."  
  
"Thanks," Keating answered dryly, her voice heavy. "I'm so tired. Just want to go to bed."  
  
"Sounds like a plan," he replied.   
  
"To sleep, you idiot."  
  
"Oh well, we can do that too." There was soft chuckling. "I brought some clothes with me."  
  
Letty covered her mouth to keep from chuckling out loud as Jackie made a frantic motions with her hand to keep herself from squealing with delight. They move lower down the stairs to see Jules's pale hand on the railing, as the couple continued to make their way down to the sublevel parking structure.   
  
"Does that mean we can go straight to my house?" Jules asked.  
  
"Yeah, but you have to pack tonight remember? We're spending the weekend at my place?"   
  
There was a pause. "You sure that you want to..."  
  
"We've been over this, Jules. Yes."  
  
"All right then. I should bring my cell phone just in case."  
  
"Do that, though why we bother any more is beyond me."  
  
"Humor me."  
  
"That's why I do it."  
  
There was a soft laugher. "And here I thought it was because we're good in bed."  
  
"That too."  
  
The loud clang announced that they had arrived at their destination and Letty and Jackie were left to fill in the blanks of the rest of the conversation. Though, there was very little lift to imagine.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Raise your hand if you think you know where I'm going with this. 


	13. Chapter 13

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: Oh how lovely the season of giving is. Now let's give the staff at Presidio Med a little more excitement.   
  
Rating: PG-13 on this chapter.   
  
Timeline: Dutifully noted is how the holiday has already passed and everyone had a very lovely time. But since this story is written about a chapter every two weeks, we're still at early December, just after Thanksgiving. So let's just assume that Christmas is about three weeks away.   
  
Note: I'm incorporating the last scene in the last episode shown so far, where Rae tells her husband about her affair. I'm going to let my imagination do the walking from here on out. As always, creative criticisms are welcomed but any flames on storyline line ideas are not. If you don't like where I take the story, I am very sorry but it's my prerogative.  
  
Author's Note: Presidio Med returns to the airwaves on January 17, 2003. I want to try to finish this story before that but I may not be able to. Here's to hoping you enjoy my story as much as we all enjoy the show.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 13  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Good morning," Dr. Kokoris greeted cheerful as he came up behind a weary Dr. Brennan. He's day was already beginning brightly at the sight of her.   
  
Turning to look at the Greek doctor, Rae paused for a moment. She had not expected nor wanted to see him this morning. Her life was in enough turmoil without his presence adding to them. "Hi." Then continued to walk.  
  
Not the least bit deterred since these brief moments were becoming a regular occurrence, he followed still upbeat. "How are you?"  
  
"Fine," she answered briskly and headed for coffee. She needed coffee, lots and lots of coffee. Preferably ones with a couple of caffeine pills in them.  
  
"You look tired," he observed with a slight frown now. More than tired, she looked almost haggard. It was unlike her to be so silent, even in her displeasures. Rae Brennan, if nothing else, was a woman that met things head-on. "Is everything all right?"  
  
"Peachy," she replied, forcing a smiled on her face. Everything was just great considering she spent the seventh consecutive night alone in her bed and her husband has yet to be seen since leaving the house a week before. All attempts of contact she's made so far have failed. "I have patients."  
  
Bemused now, "Did I do something to upset you?"  
  
"No."  
  
A pause. "Did something happen I should know about?"  
  
For a second, Rae considered telling him. Her eyes traveled over the ruggedly handsome face, the kind of face that women put dreams and fantasies on. It was a face that crowded her dreams one too many nights. For god sakes, she was a married woman. "Nothing that concerns you."  
  
He stopped her with a hand to her elbow, "Rae..."  
  
"Kokoris," Letty Jordan called out from the end of the hallways. "What the hell are you still doing in your clothes?"  
  
Even in her state of depression, Rae raised an amuse brow at the statement. Nick looked at her, amusement dancing in his eyes.   
  
Letty threw them both a look of annoyance, it was barely eight in the morning and she hadn't had her first cup of coffee yet. "I meant, shouldn't you be scrubbed in for surgery by now?"  
  
"Someone misread the notes on the girl's chart. They gave her breakfast. We'll have to wait a bit to go in," he explained calmly.  
  
"Excuse me," Rae said, slipping away.  
  
Nick opened his mouth to stop her. "Rae..." then gave up. She was not going to talk to him, no matter what he said or does, he could tell by the way she moved. And if there's anything he's learned about women in his life, it was that you shouldn't push when they are unwilling. "Stubborn woman."  
  
"All the good doctors are," Letty commented, her eyes fluttering between the two. "Anything I should be concerned about?"  
  
"No," Nick answered without visible reaction. "I was just in..."  
  
"NICK!!!" Jules Keating came charging down the call toward the pair. An analogy of a charging rabid deer would not be far from the mark. Slapping a chart in his hands, she glared at him. "I hate you."  
  
"Good morning, Dr. Keating. Did you have breakfast?" he asked blandly as he opened the chart to see what she was showing him.   
  
"Don't act the innocent with me," she warned with a growl. "And you can take the tray out of my office right now. I've had more than enough to eat this morning, thank you very much." Slingerland had made enough to feed six starving sailors before she even had a chance to shower. Her kitchen was quite literally bare now.   
  
"Perhaps you can have it for lunch," he replied with a grin, as he glanced at Dr. Jordan, who was making no attempt to hide her amusement.   
  
"All three?" Jules asked, exasperated.  
  
"Three?" he questioned mildly.  
  
"Yes, three. And don't tell me you don't know anything about it," she wiggled a threatening finger at him.  
  
Making a quick note on oxygen saturation levels, he glanced at her. "I only ordered one."  
  
Letty chuckled out loud. "If I'd known you were going to do it, I wouldn't have bothered."  
  
"You?" Jules threw up her hand. "Then who sent the third one?"  
  
"I did," Harriet announced as she came up behind her with three charts in her hand. "And I don't want to be hearing any more about you skipping meals. It's not healthy." Handing her the charts, "I've got three high risks coming in today, one into her seventh month. I need a neonatal consult at two and three thirty."  
  
Grumbling, Jules made a note. "I'll check with my schedule but I don't think it's going to be any problems. I'll move my three thirty up fifteen minutes."   
  
"Good," Harriet nodded and put on her reading glasses to do a chart. "Now go eat your breakfast."  
  
"I've already had breakfast," she complained under her breath as she made her way back to her office. "In fact, I had enough breakfast for two."  
  
Letty frowned as she watched Dr. Keating walked away, having caught that last comment. "You don't think she meant..."  
  
"Do you believe it?" Kokoris asked, his brows raised and curiosity evident on his face.   
  
"You mean the pregnancy?" Letty asked, watching the slim figure turn the corner.  
  
"What pregnancy?" Harriet asked absentmindedly as she made notes on her patient's chart.   
  
"Jules's pregnancy," Letty informed her.  
  
Turning her head, Dr. Lenning slipped her glasses off and stared at the two. "Dr. Keating is pregnant?"  
  
"Is she?" Nick asked.  
  
Harriet shook her head, confused. "You just said..."  
  
"No, no," Letty made a face. These conversations get out of hand real fast if not clarified quickly. "There were rumors that Keating and Slingerland are expecting. Since you're her OB/GYN, we thought you would know."  
  
"If I was, doctor/patient confidentiality still applies. And if Jules is pregnant, I don't know anything about it," neatly side stepping the rule. Sighing, she gave them an exasperated look. "Don't spread unfound rumors and don't be speculating. We have better things to do around here. Like saving lives. Don't you two have patients?"  
  
Two of the most respected doctors in their fields grinned and scurried off to do their jobs.  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Hold all my calls, I'm going on my lunch break," Slingerland called out as he dropped the last of the charts into the sorting bin and headed for the elevators. "I'll be back at one."  
  
"Dr. Slingerland," Norman chased after the long legged doctor waving several leaflets of notes in his hands. "You've got phone messages," and caught up to the doctor just as he stepped into the elevator.   
  
Grabbing them from the outstretched hands, he snatched his own back before the elevator doors could do damage to it. Leafing through them, he noted that his brother called three times, his mother called twice, two patients called about renewing prescriptions and Janice from Alpha Pharmaceutical called again. Probably to push the new allergy pills... or to ask him out again; neither of which are much interest to him.   
  
With a sigh, he pocketed the bunch and headed for neonatal. He knew that rumors were high now, not a damn thing he could do about that, plus it was not nearly as important as assuring himself that the loopy woman had food at regular intervals.   
  
Coming to the receptionists' desk, he leaned against it and cocked his head toward the Dr. Keating's office. "Anita, is she in with a patient?"   
  
Eyes wide behind her lens, she shook her head and pointed to the door.   
  
"Thanks," he replied with a quick flirtatious smile for an attractive passing nurse. The sudden increase of whispered voices did not surprise him as he walked into Jules's office. The easy greeting he was about to give was lost in his throat.  
  
Kokoris was pulling the pixie doctor onto her feet and out from behind her desk. "Come along. Do not make me carry you again."  
  
Jules made noises of protests as she resisted the tugging arm. "Nick..."  
  
"Am I interrupting?" Slingerland asked in his most reasonable tone. At the moment, it would give him a great deal of pleasure to plant his fist into Kokoris's smiling face.  
  
"Matt, tell him to stop treating me like a three year old," Jules complained with a pout, oblivious of the underlying current of anger in Matt's tone.  
  
Running his tongue over his teeth, for he had a feeling that Slingerland was tempted to knock some of them out, Nick release the arm he had previously been pulling on. Being in physical contact with the woman at the moment could be detrimental to his health. It was not hard for a man to recognize jealousy when it smacks him in the face. "Good, now you can convince Dr. Keating that her paperwork isn't as important as a healthy meal, especially after two hours in surgery."   
  
Matt turned his eyes on the woman behind the desk, who had opened up her chart again. "Jules..."  
  
"Two charts," she muttered quickly, her hand scribbling across the page. "I just have two more charts to finish before I begin my rounds this afternoon and..."  
  
"No," he grabbed the pen when it came to a pause. He nodded his head at Kokoris, who flashed him an acknowledging grin and left them alone. "You are going to behave like a normal, sensible person, not to mention a doctor, and eat when it is lunch time." Closing the clip with one hand and pulling her up to her feet once more with the other, he glanced at the door that Kokoris had very considerately shut behind him before pressing a quick kiss on her to shut her protests. "Behave or I'm going to Dr. Lenning."   
  
Her jaws dropped open and she stared wide-eyed at him, "Are you threatening me with Dr. Mom?" a nickname of the matron doctor that no one dared to say within her hearing.   
  
"Whatever works," he said with a grin as he pressed another kiss on her lips. "Hum... I definitely I like this." Then kissed her again with seduction on his mind.  
  
When her legs were beginning to feel like limp noodles, Jules pulled away and took a deep breath. She has a hard time thinking straight when he's in the mood to cloud her mind with passion. "Okay, we have to stop."  
  
"Why?" he murmured into her ear as he pulled her close again. She was wearing some soft floral scent, so endearingly sweet and delicate, so like the woman, that it was incredibly provocative.   
  
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," she muttered before pulling away again. The man could charm the devil into going to church. "Oh yeah, someone might see us."  
  
"And your point would be?" he asked teasingly but sobered when she frowned at him. "Jules, believe me when I tell you that there isn't a single staff member in this hospital that doesn't know about us anymore." He'd heard enough whispers and sly looks to last him a lifetime.   
  
"More the reason not to flaunt it," she replied firmly.  
  
"All right, all right, we'll do it your way for now." He grinned and studied her pixie face. "You're too pale."  
  
"Irish roots," turning to pick up some files that needed to be returned to nursing.   
  
Shifting her, he took her chin with his fingers and studied her sweet face. "No, I mean it. You're too pale, even more so than your normal pallor." The only spot of real color on her face was the dusty rose color lipstick he was no doubt sharing now. "Let's go to hematology and get some blood drawn, do the whole work up. Then we'll go get lunch."  
  
She stared at him, not sure if he was serious or not. "I don't want to..."  
  
"I give you ice cream," he offered with a smile, hiding his concern behind a well-placed tease.   
  
"I'm not some three year old that you can bribe with sweets," coming around her desk to get to the nurses' station.   
  
"Worked last night," he pointed out.  
  
"Only cause I wanted ice cream," she shot back and grabbed the door handle.   
  
"Jules," placing a palm above her head, keeping her office door shut. "Please," he asked in his most appealing tone, eyes staring into hers with concern. "For my peace of mind, will you please get some blood drawn? I don't like the fact that you appear to be wasting away right before my eyes."  
  
Because he was asking nicely, because he possibly have the most heart-melting cute puppy-dog brown eyes, because he was so sweetly concerned, and because she has been feeling more exhaustion of late, "All right, all right. If it'll make you get off my case about this, I'll get blood drawn." She slanted him a glance, "Do I still get ice cream?"  
  
Matt grinned. "Strawberry or vanilla?"  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Jules!" Jackie Colette comes into a near collision with the pediatrician in the hallway. "I'm glad I caught you."  
  
"What's up?" signing an order before glancing at her watch. It was almost five and she still had three patients waiting to see her. She was so not getting out of here on time... again.   
  
"I was thinking that maybe you and I could go out this weekend," Jackie suggested with a full smile. "You know, a couple of attractive gals out on the town."  
  
"Where?" Dr. Keating asked absentmindedly as she looked over her next patient's chart. Another case of sniffles and fever, it would be her tenth one today. Winter, along with its holidays, brought many small ailments that can thoroughly ruin a kid's school break.   
  
"I was thinking the Blue Note," Jackie suggested as she leaned her elbow on the countertop and tilted her head to watch her friend. "I hear they have some great swing bands there at nights. Ever been there before?"  
  
Jules's hand paused at mid-scrawl of her signature. "Once," wondering just how in the world Dr. Colette could have possibly known that. "You?"  
  
"Once," Jackie answered, quick to hide her amusement. "But I've been dying to go back again. Met a really fine looking man there." Eyes twinkling, "Perfect place for a date. Intimate, lively, great food..."  
  
Glancing at her, "What do you want Jackie?"  
  
"Nothing," she replied innocently. "I just thought you and I, two very intelligent, lovely doctors, shouldn't spend Friday night all by our lonesome. So what do you way? Tonight? Blues Note? Pick up some hot guys?" At Jules's slight hesitation, "Or do you have other plans?"  
  
Anything she said now was either going to condemned her or put her in the worse possible spot in the world, luckily, the gods were showing her favor as Dr. Lenning came around the corner, chart in hand and legs moving at a pace that could only be described as a dead-run. "Jules, Mrs. Morris's water just broke."  
  
Snapping into doctor mode, "That's not possible. We just saw her two hours ago, she wasn't even having contractions."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Harriet's eyes spoke volumes of disapproval. "Remember how she refused to do the sonogram?"  
  
Jules rolled her eyes and picked up her charts and shoved them at Jackie, "Do me a favor, give these to Anita and tell her to page Dr. Carlton to cover for me. I've only got three more left. I just need someone to see them, small cases, nothing to them. I've got to get neonatal set for a high risk baby."  
  
Jackie struggled for a moment with the toppling charts. "Hey, what about tonight?"  
  
"If I'm not too exhausted," she answered and mentally made a note to herself to avoid Jackie for the rest of the day. Slingerland would not be happy with her if he were to hear about this.  
  
Jackie stood there for a moment, laugher in her eyes and a big silly grin on her face. Jules couldn't have been more obvious if she tried.   
  
"Something amusing, Dr. Colette?" Nick asked as he set his charts on the nurses' counter and exchanged them for the ones for his next set of patients. Six more patients to check in on before he turns the whole lot to the night shift doctor. That's six patients too many by his exhaustion scale.   
  
"Keating and Slingerland," Jackie grinned as she glanced at his charts. "Anything in there that you can throw my way? Hospital is grumbling about my workload again."  
  
"I've got a auto-accident that may be good for you. Sliced legs and everything," he murmured, glancing through the charts once more. "What was it you were saying about Keating and Slingerland?"  
  
"Sliced legs? Are we talking about the motorcycle verses Mack truck the fourth floor nurses were yapping about?" The horrified look on her face had Kokoris smiling.  
  
"That would be the one."  
  
Colette closed her eyes with resignation. "God help me from stupid teens and their stunts. How much skin am I going to have to graft for this guy?"  
  
"Not much, only two legs' worth," he laughed and stacked his clips together. "I may also have a nose job for you too."  
  
"Kid with the baseball bat?" she slanted him a smug look at his startled face. "I heard about that one too."   
  
"Does anything happen in this hospital that you don't know about?" he asked, mildly curious but amused at her closely she manages to keep her ears to the ground while he barely had time to grab snacks between patients.   
  
"Not really," she said with a grin. "Speaking of which, if you watch real close today, you'll see our dear Dr. Keating going home with Dr. Slingerland." Her face lit up with sheer mischievous fun. "She's spending the weekend at his place cause apparently he spent several nights at hers this week."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yup!" then grabbed the clips and skipped off, delighted with life in general.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Nice digs," tossing the overnight bag on the couch before following it with sigh of relief. "Mr. and Mrs. Morris are the proud new parents of five pound two ounce boy. Seven weeks too early but healthy as a horse and wailing like a banshee."  
  
"So why are you keeping him in an incubator?" Matt asked as he leaned over the back of the couch to kiss Jules on the forehead. Grabbing the overnight bag, he headed for the stairs up to his bedroom in the two-story townhouse "I ordered Italian while waiting for you in the hospital. Should be here in half an hour."  
  
"Did you get tiramisu?" she asked, turning to watch him climb the stairs she hadn't worked up enough energy to attempt.   
  
"Double servings of it," he called back.  
  
"Good," flopping back on the couch and taking a good look at her surroundings. Chuckling, she got up to search through the movie collection that rivaled her own and to have a more appreciate look at the 32" flat screen TV with surround sound. "Life is good when you can entertain yourself in style," she mused as her finger trailed over the titles of the video section. "Three Stooges. So like a man."  
  
"What are you up to?" Matt asked as he came down the stairs cheerfully, enjoying the sight of her in front of the gold accented cheval mirror his mother had sent him last Christmas. She looked good in her maple color sweater, standing in a room decorated in classic masculine earth tones.   
  
"My brother would so approve of this get up," she commented as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. "I like the fact that you have the Shirley Temple collection with your Humphrey Bogart collection. Very classy."   
  
He grinned and dropped his chin onto her shoulder. "How about we have dinner in front of the TV and put on a movie. I just picked up 'The Big Sleep' on DVD. I think you'd like it."  
  
"One of my favorites," she grinned and turned her head to look at him. "That sounds like a plan." The blinking red light on the stand by the stairway caught her eyes. "You have phone messages."  
  
Turning to look, he sighed. "I'll get us something to drink. What would you like?" going to the kitchen and pressing the replay button on the answering machine on his way.   
  
"You have five new messages."   
  
"A beer would be nice," she answered, sitting in the sofa again.   
  
"Stay off the alcohol Keating until we get your blood works back on why you look half like a ghost," he warned. "How about some good old English coffee?"  
  
"You've convinced me," she grinned at him. "Why haven't the blood works come back yet anyways?"  
  
"The lab is backed up. One of the equipments failed."   
  
"Oh." She hated it when that happens.   
  
"Matt? Matt, are you there and just screening your calls?" the deep rich British tone came through the machine. "If you are there, pick up the bloody phone. If you aren't, call me the minute you receive this. Beep. Message sent, Thursday 11:00 AM."  
  
"Who was that?" Jules stared wide-eyed at the machine as he whirled to the next message.   
  
"My brother George," he said plugging in the coffee maker before coming into the living room. "Very dramatic, dear George."   
  
"Matthew darling, it's your mother," came the next greeting in a singsong voice that had Slingerland rolling his eyes. "Call me when you get this message. I don't hear from you nearly enough, dear."  
  
As the machine announced when the message was left, Slingerland pulled her into the crook of his arm and cuddled with her for a moment. "You'd think after thirty odd years, I would begin to recognize her voice when I hear it."  
  
"That's okay," she laughed. "My mom still leaves the telephone number when she leaves a message, like I don't know it by heart."   
  
"Matt, it's George. Call me, you blood bastard. I swear you doctors have the worse possible schedules in the world. Never seem to reach you when I need you, and you don't even carry a bloody mobile phone."  
  
"Someone's in trouble," Jules predicted.  
  
"With George, that's a normal occurrence," he commented.  
  
"What do you think it is?"  
  
"Probably had to do with his wife again."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, usually is."  
  
"Why don't you lend him a hand then?"  
  
"And how am I to stop it from occurring the next time? The man never learns from his mistakes."  
  
"Which are?"  
  
The next message began with a foul curse, which had both doctors staring. "Matthew Edward Slingerland, where the bloody hell are you? It's George again; I need help. Alice plans on filing for divorce. Bloody woman wouldn't even talk to me. Call her will you? Get her to see reason and for god sakes, tell her to give me some of my clothes! Can't bloody well buy a whole new wardrobe just because she's in a snit about me secretary."   
  
"Alice?" Jules asked with one raised brow.  
  
Matt made a face. "Wife number four. The three marriages beforehand crashed after his wives learned the hard way that my brother has a difficult time keeping his secretaries." At her questioning look he sighed and explained, "They usually end up his wives."   
  
"Ouch."  
  
"Yes. Mother still hopes for him to settle down and give her grandchildren."  
  
"And you?"  
  
He grinned. "She hopes that I will come to my senses and leave the bloody colonies."   
  
"Consorting with the rebels," she giggled as she tilted her ear to the next message, hoping for another one from George. They were just beginning to become interesting. But another voice came on, most distinctly not Georges.   
  
"Hey ya, Doc. It's Mitzi. I'm flying into San Francisco tomorrow evening. You can get me at all the usual numbers. Can't wait to see you. Until tomorrow."  
  
Matt's face turned an ash gray as Jules pulled out from his arms and turned to face him. Mild curiosity had her arching one fine brow. "Who is Mitzi?"   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
You knew that I was going to throw Slingerland's past in here sooner or later. 


	14. Chapter 14

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: There's nothing like the past rearing it's ugly head to throw a wrench into a perfectly good relationship.   
  
Rating: PG-13 on this chapter.   
  
Timeline: Dutifully noted is how the holiday has already passed and everyone had a very lovely time. But since this story is written about a chapter every two weeks, we're still at early December, just after Thanksgiving. So let's just assume that Christmas is about three weeks away.   
  
Author's Suggestion: Read the last chapter to get this one going.   
  
Note: We're fast coming up to when Presidio Med is going to start airing once more. Here's to hoping I can finish this up quickly and not confuse myself.   
  
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Chapter 14  
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"Who is Mitzi?"   
  
Fighting the urge to squirm, Matt wondered which god he angered today. "Where is that delivery person. I'm positively starved. Are you hungry? I can make us something first if..."  
  
"Don't change the subject or ignore the question," grabbing him by the loosely knotted tie around his neck; she always knew those silly things were useful. "Who...is...Mitzi?"  
  
He cleared his throat, knowing without having to consider it that whatever answer he gave now was going to thoroughly upset Jules. "Well... She's.... um..."  
  
Mildly annoyed and a little amused by the amount of discomfort she was currently subjecting him to, "You have thirty seconds before I get up and walk out that door."   
  
Closing his eyes, he let out a breath. "She's someone I occasionally see."  
  
"Occasionally see?" she asked, all curious now.   
  
This was the part that was going to get him in trouble. "And share a bed with."  
  
She blinked, not quite understanding it yet but definitely getting there. His browed furrowed together as she thought it through. "You guys have sex."  
  
"Occasionally," he added with a wince.   
  
"Causal sex?" she asked, not quite feeling it ye.   
  
He held his breath, waiting for it, "Yes."  
  
The exasperation came first, sharp and almost resigned. Then the anger, which had her clutching the tie round his neck a little harder, leaving her knuckles white and eyes blazing with fury. And then the sharp stab of betrayal that forced her to let go and pull away.  
  
"Jules," reaching out for her as she scooted along the couch, away from him.   
  
She held a hand out to stop him. "Don't touch me."   
  
He forced himself not to put his hands on her. The anger he could deal with, it was something he could deal with. But the hurt in her eyes... it hurt him to see it in those soft eyes. And it killed him to know that he had caused it. "Please, let me explain."  
  
She shook her head, fighting the tear that threatened to show her weakness. She turned to look at him, with every intention to get up and leave. But didn't follow through. Instead, she sat there for a full minute, just looking at him. Maybe it was the way he held his hands out, asking for understanding. Maybe it was because his eyes were pleading with her to give him a chance. Maybe it was cause his brows were knitted together with concern for her. There were a lot of maybes that went through her mind. But the bottom lines was, she stopped. "You have two minutes."  
  
"Two minutes," he promised before taking a deep breath. He could do this. He had to do this. "Mitzi is a flight attendant with United Airline. She is based out of Chicago. We met at a bar and..." searching his memory for a good word here. "We hit off. We had an understanding. No commits, no strings attached. It was just..." he was going to catch hell for his but there was no other way to put it. "It was just fun, nothing more. When she flies into San Francisco, we'd meet, have a drink and..." he made a helpless gesture, hoping she wouldn't force him to say it.   
  
She shut her eyes and nodded her head.  
  
"I swear, I haven't seen hide nor hair of her in months now. And most assuredly not since we've been involved," he insisted urgently, praying that she believed him. "I swear on my dear mother's grave that I have no intentions of seeing her much less bedding her."  
  
She frowned at him. "You're mother's still alive, you idiot. You just got a phone message from her."   
  
He blinked at her. "It is just a saying, Jules."   
  
Glaring at him, "You really want to be arguing with me right now?"  
  
Acknowledging that piece of wisdom, he shook his head quickly. "I will swear on whatever it is you want me to swear by that I didn't even know Mitzi is coming to town. Hell, I've not been here since Thursday morning to collect my clothes."   
  
She eyed him suspiciously, not sure if she wanted to trust those appealing eyes. But the man looked down right desperate. Besides which, Slingerland was too smart to leave such an ridiculous message on the machine for her to hear if he had wanted to cheap on her. Logically, she could really only conclude that he was telling the truth. Plus... she really did want to believe him. "And you don't plan on ever seeing her again?"  
  
He lit up like the Christmas lights that lined the streets already. "As you Americans say it, scout's honor," holding up two fingers in much the same manner as a soldier would salute his commanding officer.   
  
Rolling her eyes, she fell into his open arms again. "Oh Lord, I must be insane to trust a rogue like you." Matt counted his blessings and said nothing as they cuddled for a moment. "I thought you were going to make me coffee?"  
  
Chuckling light, he got up to get the coffee. "Hungry?"  
  
"More tired than anything," she said with a yawn.  
  
Pouring cream from a small carton he had picked up exclusively for her, he came around with the two steaming cups. "How about I draw you a bath? I've got a nice big tub upstairs in the master bedroom, one of the reasons I brought this place. Man can't soak in one of those little things they have now a days."   
  
Amused, "They have clawed lion's feet or something?"  
  
"No, but it does have a swan-head faucet."   
  
Surprised and delighted, "Really?"  
  
He looked at her, enjoying the sight of the smile on her face. Leaning forward, he couldn't resist kissing her solidly in mouth. "Shall I run a bath for you?"  
  
A little bemused by the sudden kiss, she nodded her head. "And if there's Italian when I'm done, I'll let you see what I bought at Victor's Secret last week."  
  
Getting up in a hurry, "I'll run and water and call the restaurant. Wallet's on the counter if they show up while up the stairs." Jules's laughter followed him as he fairly raced up the steps to his bedroom.  
  
Still grinning with amusement, she flopped back onto the coach and took a quick sip of the dark bitter blew. She couldn't explain why she trusted him to have told the truth, only that she felt it. And the glow of happiness and relief that came... it was well worth making him squirm like a worm on a hook. Now, what was she going to do about making sure there weren't anymore bimbos like Mitzi coming to knocking on his door....  
  
The knocking on her front door both startled and amused her. Chuckling at her own silliness, she scrambled to her feet. Dinner! Looks like Slingerland was going to get to see the lace teddy she bought after all. Grabbing his wallet and digging out two twenties before she pulled the door open without bothering with the peephole, she came to abrupt halt.   
  
She was exactly what Jules had expected a woman that Slingerland would date. Five-nine, blonde manes that looked like it never needed taming, blue eyes framed by long curling lashes, not a freckle in sight to blemish that perfect complexion; she was a live size Barbie-doll, every man's fantasy.  
  
"Oh, hello," lavender shaded eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't realize the doc had a housekeeper. Is he in?"  
  
For some unexplained reason, Jules had to fight the urge to laugh. Holding the door at an angle, she leaned against it, not admitting entrance. "Is he expecting you?"  
  
"No, no," she smiled, curling those perfectly painted lips. "I dropped by to surprise him."  
  
Nodding her head with perfect understanding, "Oh, he'll definitely be surprised all right. Want to come in?" holding the door out wider for her.  
  
"Thank you," dragging a travel bag with her on wheels. "Isn't it a bit late for you to be still working?"  
  
"I wouldn't know," Jules answered with a friendly smile as she shut the door and watched as the woman easily slung her coat across the back of the coach and set her bag down. "I work odd hours."  
  
"I know the feeling," she replied with a laugh, discreetly looking about. "Could you get the doc for me?"  
  
"Sure," she answered cheerfully before skipping to the foot of the stairs. Smiling widely at the pretty stewardess, she turned her head and hollered, "SLINGERLAND!!!"  
  
As the human Barbie-doll stared wide-eyed at the crazed housekeeper, pounding footsteps announced the presence of the good doctor. "Jules? Jules? What's wrong?" he asked as he took the last three steps of the stairs at a leap and came to a stumbling stop three feet from the amazed flight attendant. "Mitzi?" he asked, horrified.  
  
"Surprise!" streaking a pose despite the strangeness of the situation. She was always glad to see the cute British doctor.   
  
"You have no idea," he replied, not quite knowing what to do next. Turning, he was arrested by the sight of a coolly collected Dr. Keating leaning against the wall, arms crossed and lips curled in dry amusement. "I can explain."  
  
"I'm positive you can," she replied, pushing off from the wall and going over to the coach. Picking up her discarded jacket, she turned just as Matt snatched the garment away from her.   
  
"Jules, Jules, just hold on a minute," he pled, wondering what god in heaven did he piss off tonight to be doing this to him, TWICE!!!  
  
"Matt," she explained in her most reasonable tone. She was enjoying this a lot more than she expected to. "I'm going to take myself, my jacket," trying to grab it back from him and not succeeding, damn his long arms, "And this nice cup of coffee you made me and go upstairs for my bath. You and Mitzi need to talk." She smiled sweetly at him as his surprise had him lowering the arm that still held her jacket. Taking that and her cup of coffee, she leaned close and whispered, "If she's still here when I'm done, I'm going home in a cab." With a nod to Mitzi, she headed upstairs satisfied that she's made her position clear to him.   
  
Silence descended as Matt stood there a little stunned. Who would have believed him? Apparently only sweet Jules Keating.   
  
"I'm going to guess that you're not delightfully happy to see me," Mitzi hazard dryly. She may not have made the top twenty in her high school graduating class, but she wasn't blind.   
  
"No," he answered truthfully. If nothing else, he and Mitzi always had an honest relationship. "You should have called."  
  
"I did," she reminded him.  
  
"Then you should have waited until I called back," he pointed out to her. "We had agreed upon that."  
  
"Yes," she smiled guiltily. "I'm sorry. I guess I just didn't think that you'd settle down so soon."  
  
Matt shook his head at her. "We're just dating. But this is a monogamous relationship."  
  
"I got it," she said, picking up her jacket with a smile. "Tell her that..."  
  
"I don't need to," he replied, walking her to the door. "Jules and I don't have secrets. She knows the deal with us and what you are to me. Not happy about it, mind you, but she understands that it was what it was." Emphasizing the past tense in the sentence so that there was no misunderstanding. "I'll make it up to her."  
  
She nodded her head, "She seems nice. I thought she was the housekeeper," she laughed softly, shaking her blonde locks. "She must have thought it was funny not to have kick up a fuss the way she did. Definite keeper. What is she anyways? Schoolteacher? She's got that I-love-kids look."   
  
"Doctor, actually. Pediatrics," he replied, opening the door for her. "Need help hailing a cab?"  
  
"With these legs?" she scoffed. She paused at the door, studying him for a moment. "She the real thing or just a phase? I'm asking cause I want to know whether to call you up the next time I hit town."  
  
For a moment, it was on the tip of his tongue to say that Jules was the real thing. But habit and caution had him shaking his head. "She's important to me."  
  
More observant than most would give her credit for, Mitzi mentally crossed the doc's name off her list. "Take care of yourself, doc."  
  
"You too," he replied as she hit the concrete sidewalk then the street, bringing one hand up and one leg out. Two seconds flat, a cab pulled up beside her. Waving, he watched until the taillights disappeared around the corner.   
  
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"Do you even know her last name?" Jules asked, after his carefully maneuvering of the conversation through most of dinner. They've talked about everything else except for Mitzi's sudden appearance. For a while, she was content to allow him to stir, but she was just mischievous enough to want to tease.   
  
Choking on some pasta, he glared at her for having timed her question at the exact moment he was inhaling. "Dunning," he replied. "Mitzi Dunning."  
  
Nodding with approval, she pushed a large meatball around her plate. "So how old is she, anyways? I mean, she doesn't look that old at all. Twenty? Twenty-one? Or maybe it the long hair that threw me off. Most professional women generally cut their hair cause it takes less effort tot style."  
  
He looked at her soberly, contemplating on what must be going through her mind. "She's twenty-six."  
  
"Hum... really?" picking up her coffee, she sipped it silently and peeked at him from over the top of the rim. "And did she tell you that? Or did she show you her driver's license?"   
  
Answering that line of question was going to make him look ten times the fool he was already beginning to feel like. But suffer he must. "Dessert?" getting up to clear the table even as she smiled widely at his lack of response.   
  
Watching him as he puttered around in his spacious kitchen, a far cry better stocked than her own was, looking ridiculous good in his dress shirt and slacks with a white apron tied over it. Few men could retain their masculine appeal while wearing something that would put the women's movement back fifty years. "Would you have slept with her if I hadn't been spending the night here today?"  
  
"No," without hesitation.  
  
She linked her fingers together in front of her and rested her chin on them. "Does it bother you that I know about her? Or if I knew any of the women you were sleeping with?"  
  
He filled the skin with water and added dishwashing detergent. He supposed that he could have used the dishwasher, like any civilized normal man would, but he found that scrubbing dishes helped to relax him. And God knows that he needed to relax if Jules persisted on these questions. "Yes, it does."  
  
Coming up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist under the scratchy apron. "Why?"  
  
His hands paused in the soapy water. "Because I do not want you thinking that I... I don't want you to doubt me when I..." he didn't know how to complete the sentence. And try as he may, he couldn't quite find the right words to express himself. "I don't want you thinking of past relationship, they have nothing to do with the present. Just as I don't want to be thinking of your past lovers."  
  
"Why not?" pressing her lips against the base of his neck.   
  
The jolt of heat made its way from neck head to loins in three point three seconds. "I don't want to imagine you in another man's arms."  
  
Surprised and touched, she smiled behind his back, "Why Dr. Slingerland.... I do believe you care." Giving him a quick squeeze of affection, she made her way to the frig. "You said something about dessert?"  
  
A little at sea, he blinked for a moment before resuming his washing of the dishes. "Tiramisu, top shelf."   
  
"Want to eat it in bed?" she asked, taking the little cardboard box out and going in search of a plate to place the delicate treat on.   
  
"And get crumbs in it?" he asked, beginning to rinse the now clean dishes.   
  
"Your very judicious about cleanliness, aren't you?" leaning against the kitchen counter, setting the two forks she had found next to the plate. "Won't have thought that of you."  
  
"Mother always had a housekeeper when we were going up," he explained with a grin. "The house was spotless even if it smelled of cleansing products every damn day. Habits are hard to break."   
  
"You have a housekeeper?" she asked, wondering if he was going to answer the question about eating dessert in bed.   
  
"Lucille, come every two weeks to make sure I live as a man of my age and profession should." He grinned and dried his hands on a towel from a rack by the sink.   
  
"Tell you what," she offered, picking put the plate with delight. She loved tiramisu, especially if she got to share it with a guy that had an accent that made her knees go weak. "You let me eat this in bed with you," standing on tip toe to drop a kiss on his nose, "And I'll let you see me in my new teddy."  
  
It was a no brainer. "Deal." She was so adorable. "And Jules," thinking back to an earlier question. "There isn't anyone now but you."  
  
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"The park? You sure?"  
  
"Clear as day. Feeding ducks of all things."  
  
"And you sure they were together? I mean, they didn't just accidentally meet there or something?"  
  
"Nope, people that accidentally meet in the park don't come prepared with a bag of crumbs and holding hands the entire time."  
  
"So it really is true."  
  
"Did you doubt it?"  
  
"Well... yeah, I guess I did kind of. I mean... Keating is such a goody-goody. And Slingerland is... he's bad news to anything in a skirt."  
  
"Opposites, my dear."  
  
"That's just plain myth."  
  
"Then how would you explain those two?"  
  
There was a silence. "For the sake of the baby?" came the hesitant theory.  
  
"I would have sooner guessed really good sex."  
  
Rae shook her head. "Ladies, this is a hospital, not the local gossip club. Let's get back to work here."  
  
Scrambling away, the two nurses couldn't help but to continue their whispered conversation on the newest piece of news on the Keating/Slingerland front. It was the juiciest piece of gossip since Dr. Cromdall decked Dr. Underbrink.   
  
"Don't be too hard on them," Letty advised with a grin, having enjoyed the better part of that exchange. "It's not like they're the only ones curious about what's going on with those two. Heck, I'd pay a pretty penny to know what they did all weekend."  
  
"Besides feed the ducks at the park?" Rae asked tiredly but with a smile. From the looks of things, Jules had nothing to worry about in the relationship department. "Oh, I'm sure Slingerland found ways to distract Jules." Signing a chart, she looked up just as Anita handed her another chart. "Thank you."  
  
"Anita!" Slingerland called as he came jogging into the station. "Where's Keating?"  
  
"In with a patient," she answered a little startled. "Did you need her for something?"  
  
"Yes," he replied a little breathless from having taken four flights of stairs upward. "I need about fifteen minutes of her time after she's done with this patient. Can you squeeze me in?"  
  
"Fifteen?" she asked dubiously as she glanced down at the appointment book.  
  
"It's very important," he emphasized. "I'll wait in her office," then took off toward that said room before Anita could reply.  
  
"What was that all about?" Rae asked, more than mildly curious now.   
  
"May have something to do with the lab results he just got," Norman offered smugly.   
  
Letty and Rae turned as one. "What lab results?"  
  
Normal continued to sort through the stack of papers. "Dr. Slingerland had Dr. Keating's blood drawn on Friday. Full work up. Labs just came back with the results."  
  
"And?" Letty wanted to know.  
  
"And what?" he shrugged. He's offered all he was going to for the day as he picked up papers and came around the counter. "How would I know? I'm not a doctor."  
  
Rae, having done the biopsy, was instantly filled with dread. "Anita, call the labs. I want a copy of that result, ASAP."   
  
Letty paused for a moment, professional and personal loyalties conflicting. "Are you sure that's a wise idea. What if it's doctor/patient confidential material?"  
  
"I'm her oncologist," Rae replied with all seriousness. "If she's had a relapse, I want to know about it now rather than later."   
  
The personal side won. "Anita, give me the phone. The boys in the labs are afraid of me."   
  
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Okay, I had hoped to have this story done before the next episode of Presidio Med was shown so I don't clash with cannon. But as you can see, that's not going to happen. (Shrugs) Oh well, maybe I can incorporate the show into my story. 


	15. Chapter 15

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: Jules and Slingerland face up to more than just one problem as the hospital revel in the gossips.   
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Author's Suggestion: End of last chapter will make this one better. And again, no medical training here. Anything that sounds remotely like medical terms was thanks to the wonderful world of the internet, where one can find light information on anything and everything.   
  
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Chapter 15  
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"Whoa there, what's up with the running people down thing?" Jackie asked as she watched a determined Dr. Jordan and Dr. Brennan march down the hall at a steady unwavering pace...somewhere between a hard march and power walk.  
  
"Labs," Letty answered as she passed the plastic surgeon. "Keating had blood work done on Friday. Doesn't look alike it's good news."   
  
"How bad?" running to catch up to the longer legged doctors. She liked Keating. She was smart, ambitious, talented doctor. It wasn't right for this to be happening to her again.   
  
"At best, really bad if it's what I think it is," Rae answered, her face set in grime displeasure. She had to wonder why Jules hadn't confided in her if there had been a problem she suspected. But then, Rae admitted, she has been a little preoccupied lately with other things in her life.   
  
"Where's the fire, ladies?" Kokoris asked as the three women marched pass him at station three.   
  
"Labs," Letty answered again as Rae picked up her pace, almost running as the lab doors were in sight. "Keating may have a relapse."   
  
Nick heard enough about Keating's ovarian cancer to know that it was serious. He picked up his charts, motion for the nurse to keep his patients waiting for five more minutes, and then followed the troop of women into the labs. He liked the young pediatrician and her constant fight for their youngest patients.   
  
"Where is it?" Rae demanded, holding out her hand.  
  
Rick, the new technician snatched the print out from the printer, where it had only just reprinted the test results from Dr. Slingerland's charts. Handing them over, he made a quick exit in hopes of avoiding any backlash bad results are likely to produce. A wise man knew when to retreat from a bad situation. Two anxious doctors glaring down at him was definitely a bad situation.   
  
"What is it?" Nick asked from his position behind Rae's shoulder.  
  
Letty raised a brow as she spotted the irregularity before the others did. "Oh my god."   
  
"I'll say," Rae murmured.  
  
"Are you serious?" Jackie asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.  
  
"And here I thought it was all just a rumor," Nick mused with a grin. "This should be interesting."   
(Okay, that should have solved all the questions from the last couple of chapters.)  
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"Hey there," Jules shut the door with the heel of her shoe as she carried the armful of clips and charts toward her table.  
  
"Let me get that for you," Matt offered, shifting the entire load off of her as he came around her desk. "You look cheerful."  
  
"Thanks," she replied, as she handed the stack over with relief. "I got to talk to Tank's parents today. The little tike is going home possibly by Wednesday if we all cross our fingers and pray real hard. Lung cleared up nicely, breathing on his own, no seizures or bleedings, heart is strong and his little brother is getting anxious to have company. It is days like these, with smiles like those happy parents, that makes it all worthwhile. Not that I'm not going to keep wishing that I had change professions when it gets rough again." She smiled, pressing a hand of her back and worked some of the muscles loose. She groaned as she gazed at the stack of charts with all the little bright sticky notes on them. "I keep getting behind on my paperwork and the nurses keep loading them on me. If Jana looks at me one more time with those accusing eyes of hers..."  
  
"Sit down," Slingerland advised, pulling her into the chair as quickly and gently as he could. "The paperwork can wait a bit."   
  
"What's up?" Jules asked, sighing as she dropped herself into the chair, relieved that she was getting off her feet. The morning had been a busy one and it was only ten. This week was already beginning to shape up like another hectic one. "Anita said that you wanted to see me real bad. And this has better be good, I've got three patients waiting and a NICU full of newborns to watch out for."   
  
"This will take a minute or two to sort out," he replied, knelling before her and resting his hands on her knees. Turning her chair, so that she was facing him directly, Matt suddenly found himself a little lost for words. "Um..."  
  
Jules grinned, her freckled nose wrinkling with fun. He was adorable when flustered. "What's the matter? Another old flame popped up today and someone saw you together and you are afraid that I'd hear about it through the grapevines?"  
  
He gave a weak laugh. "If only it was that simple."  
  
"Oh, this is sounding serious," a little unsure now that he failed to laugh at her little sallies. Slingerland looked decisively uncomfortable as he stared at her, searching her face for something she wasn't sure of. "What's the matter?" all teasing dropped from her tone.   
  
He took a deep breath and watched her eyes, those trusting eyes that were filled with concern. "I got your test results back ten minutes ago."   
  
All the color drained from her freckled cheeks. "Oh."  
  
"No, no, no, it's not all that bad!" he tried to reassured her in a hurry. Taking her face into his hands, he kissed her nose and rested his forehead against hers. "I'm making a hash of this."   
  
She searched his eyes, you can always tell by the eyes; there was no dread in them only apprehension. That's a good sign... kind of. "What do they say?"  
  
He smiled for her benefit, wide and reassuring. "That, first of all, you are extremely anemic. Your iron levels, my dear, are ridiculously low. We're going out for sushi and eggs tonight."  
  
She laughed, silently thanking him for his lightheartedness. "What else?"  
  
He touched her face, brushing a lock of flyaway hair behind her ear. The soft touch sent a shiver down her spine. "You're blood sugar is high. I'm concerned that you may have the beginnings of diabetes."  
  
His soft words were beginning to sooth her jittery nerves. "Okay, I can handle that." She reached up and took his hands into hers. "Anything else?" her eyes conveying her dread that there was.  
  
Swallowing to wet his suddenly dry throat. "You have elevated hCG levels."  
  
That was not what she was expecting. "Excuse me?"  
  
"I'm not repeating it," Matt replied with a quick shake of his head. It was hard enough saying it the first time, even with the professional clinical terms to help him along; he was not going to try to croak it out again.   
  
"hCG?" she asked, her face full of confusion and disbelief.   
  
"Yeah," he nodded, waiting for it, whatever 'it' was. She looked...stunned. It was hard to find another word that could possibly describe the reaction that was suddenly clearly written on her face. Not only stunned but maybe just a little horrified. "Jules?"  
  
"How did this happen?" she asked, voice low and bewildered. Her soft eyes were hard for him to confront, uncertain and afraid.   
  
"Well," he cleared his throat and tried to smile. "One would think that old fashion way considering our recent nocturnal activities."  
  
Jules slanted him a wholly un-amused look. "I know how a person gets pregnant, Matt. Thank you very much, I only went to medical school for that. My question is how did it happen to 'us'? We were careful." She poked him in the chest to emphasize her point. "We were really, 'really' careful. Two forms of birth control; condoms and pills. You can't get more careful than that!" The rise of hysteria was so very unlike her. Of course, this was one of those situations when any reaction was going to be... a first.   
  
She had a definitely point though. He took her hands into his, partly to keep her from poking him again and partly to calm her. "Condoms are only 97% effective when used properly; and most people don't use it properly, not exactly a class one can take comfortably on the subject. And pills are 99.7% effective if used correctly as well."  
  
Glaring at him, "Are you saying we are in that lucky point three percentile that slip between the cracks?"  
  
"No," shaking his head. She was mad, simply and utterly furious. And anything he said in defense was probably going to make it worse. So there was only one thing to throw back at her, the absolute truth. "I'm saying we weren't all that careful that first night in your flat."  
  
That gave her pause. "Oh."  
  
"Yes, oh." Matt squeezed her hands gently, bringing her attention back to him before she got lost in her own thoughts. She went from a tower of outrageous energy to defeat slump in less time than he thought was possible. He didn't like seeing her so defeated. "The good news is you won't be needing those frozen eggs any more."   
  
Jules blinked at him.   
  
Slingerland watched her pale face, eyes avoiding his as she trying to put together enough thought to convey something. "Look, I know this is a bit much to take in all at once. Believe me, I sat downstairs a bit, working up enough nerve to come up here and sit some more, before I could make any comprehensive sense of all this."  
  
"Matt..." she began.   
  
"No, no," stopping her with a quick finger to her lips. "We, both of us, have patients to see today. Like it or not, we do have responsibilities even shocks to our personal lives cannot alter at the moment. Take a few moments throughout the day to think about the baby you're carrying. We'll proceed with tonight's plans; you'll come home with me after work. We'll talk about this some more over dinner. All right?" it was good to be the voice of reason, even if his insides were quaking in fear. This was not how he planned his future to be.   
  
For lack of anything better, Jules nodded. "All right. That sounds like a plan."  
  
"Good," he hesitated for a moment before leaning in and pressing his lips firmly against hers for a moment, tasting her anxiety. She was scared, even with all her training and understanding of the medicine she was scared stiff. And as Matt wrapped his arms around her, he felt her suddenly cling to him. Breaking the kiss, he pulled her tight into his embrace. "It's going to be all right. Everything will work out," he whispered into her ears, not sure if he was saying it for her benefits or his own.  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
"Norman," Slingerland called as he jogged back into the exam area, hands reaching for the stack of charts that was beginning to pile on the nurse's station. "Call down to OB, get me an appointment with Dr. Lenning and coordinate it with Dr. Keating's schedule. Sometime in the next two days would be fine."   
  
"What reason should I give?" Norman asked, his face only slightly revealing his curiosity and thirst for gossip.   
  
"An appointment is all you need," Matt replied, eyes cutting off any more question that may arise in that area. "And put Mrs. Monroe in exam three. I'll be with her in a moment. I want to check on Jesse Martin first."   
  
"Sure," Norman agreed with a nod of his head then waited until Slingerland had gone out of sight before exam knowing glances with a nearby nurse. "An appointment?"  
  
"Looks like more news for the ladies in the lounge," the nurse replied with a giggle. "Should I get Mrs. Monroe or do you want to?"  
  
"I think I'll make the appointment first," Norman replied knowingly.  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
"So?" Letty asked, her hands busy making notes on her chart as she slide up next to Keating at the nurse's station. "How are you doing?"  
  
"Okay," Jules replied, making a quick note about little Edward's fragile bones. It was the poor kid's third visit in four months. Lots of calcium for that little tike. "What are you doing down here?"  
  
"NICU had a two day old baby with a heart murmur," she replied cheerfully. "You ordered the consult, remember?"  
  
"Oh," she had forgotten. Too much on her mind and not enough nurses around to remind her of things. "Sorry, I didn't realize that was now."  
  
"It's not," Letty replied with a grin. "It's in half an hour. Something on your mind?"  
  
"A lot of things," she replied with a sigh, dropping the chart into its slot. "Not all of which can be solved overnight." What she really right now was a good hour or two of complete alone time to think things through. It was all just happening a little two fast for her poor taxed mind to comprehend.   
  
"Anything I can do?" Letty asked, closing her chart and walking with Keating down the corridor to her next appointment. If ever a woman was distracted, it was Dr. Jules Keating right at this moment.   
  
"No, no," she waved off the light concern in her friend's voice. "Though you might want to do the sonogram on the infant now. I just sent the parents to the cafertia. I rather they not have to see it."  
  
"I'll get the boys to bring it in," she paused for a moment. "You feeling all right?"   
  
"Sure, why?" Jules asked, signaling through the glass separator.  
  
"You look a little... loaded."   
  
Turning her head, Jules slowed her steps until she came to a halt in the middle of the hallway. "Just how much do you know?"  
  
Letty shrugged her shoulders innocently. "This is a small hospital."  
  
"Like hell it is," planting her hands on her hips, Jules glared at her. "How much do you know and how did you find out? Wait, wait, wait!" Her mind played back the many pieces of gossips that floated like coffee cups in the morning. "The lab lives in fear of you. You got the lab results, did you?"  
  
"For your information," Letty said with her superior air fully in play, "I did not request to see the lab results."  
  
She wasn't buying it. "Then who did?"  
  
Lying was nothing she did well or often. "Rae... With me, Kokoris, and Colette looking over her shoulders when she got them."  
  
Leaning her head back, Jules sighed. "Oh shit."  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Come, come," Slingerland grabbed her arm before she had a chance to react.   
  
Struggling for a moment, Jules managed not to drop the three charts she had been on her way to finishing in her office and away from the speculating eyes of the nursing staff. If one more person asks if they can get her anything, she was going to scream. "Matt, what are you doing?"  
  
"Norman and Anita managed a miracle and nabbed us an appointment with Dr. Lenning in two minutes. You blocked out half an hour for paperwork and my patient cancelled on me on the last moment. Sandra in OB said that Dr. Lenning has fifteen minutes free right now if we can make it."  
  
"You made an appointment with Harriet without consulting me first?" Jules asked, the outrage evident in her voice even as she allowed him to propel her down the hallway toward the elevators. "The stairs would be a lot faster."   
  
"I don't want you bouncing up and down stairs from now on. You take the elevator like any sensible pregnant woman would." Never faltering a step, he leaned over and kissed her temple. "I know it was wrong of me to make the appointment without your consent but I honestly thought that given this was unexpected and you have coffee all weekend long..."   
  
"Matt! What happened to no show of affection at the hospital?" she reminded him, dropping her charts at the nearest nurse's station. "Get these back to pediatrics and tell Dr. Pivotte that I may be late coming back in."  
  
Slingerland waited patiently as Jules made a couple of quick notations before dragging her off again toward the elevator. "Any pretense we may have managed to keep up in the past weeks has been dispelled, or have you not notice the amount of scrutiny we've been receiving?" he pushed the up button. "And for your information, according to the Margaret Doley in Rick Management, I seduced you."  
  
As annoyed as she was, she couldn't help but smile. "You did."   
  
He looked shocked, "I beg your pardon?" just as the doors opened to the elevator. The two nurses on their way out immediately move aside and held the door for Dr. Keating.   
  
Jules grinned as Slingerland followed her into the elevator. She waited until the doors fitted closed before turning her head to look at him. " 'You' kissed me."  
  
Matt opened his mouth then shut it. Then, "If you hadn't move, it would have never happened. 'And' allow me to point out that you certainly didn't need encouragement after the initial... In fact, I believe you initiated the next couple of intimacies that eventually led to our bundle-of-joy-to-be."   
  
She took a deep breath. "Okay, okay, it was a two-way street there."  
  
"Thank you. I rather like mutual seductions," he replied, and hugged her from behind, resting his cheek against her head as the elevator hummed quietly toward their destination. "We still need to talk about this."  
  
"After we talk to Harriet, right?" she asked, knowing that she wasn't ready to talk about anything yet until she can wrap her mind around everything. Oh lord, how was she going to tell her ultra-conservative mother? "I still need a little time to think about this."  
  
"If you wish," he replied, not moving an inch from this position behind her. She smelled good, something floral and relaxing. "You've been resting throughout the day?"  
  
"Who can rest in a hospital?" she asked quietly, wrapping her arms around his. It was nice, these quiet moments. It was times likes these that she wondered how he managed a reputation as a playboy.   
  
"Normal people," he replied with a sigh. "You're going to leave on time tonight, right?"  
  
"We'll see," she answered with a quick grin as she pulled away from him. The elevator door dinged as it opened to maternity. Six pairs of eyes at the nurse's station immediately turned toward the exiting couple. Amused and flustered, "Hi."  
  
"Hi," they chimed back in unison.   
  
Slingerland fought valiantly not to smile. "Dr. Lenning in?"  
  
Sandra pointed toward the office. "She's expecting you."  
  
"Thank you," he replied with a smile as he ushered a reluctant Dr. Keating down the hallway. "Feel those eyes following us?" he asked quietly.  
  
"How can you miss it?" she hissed back.   
  
"Just relax," conscious of the inquiring eyes seeing his hand gently rubbing the small of her back, relaxing the tension there, he forced himself not to pull her against him for support. A friendly hand was one thing; a full on let-me-take-care-of-everything hug in the middle of the hallway in front of the entire staff in maternity was another. Jules would no doubt be unhappy with that and less likely to relax under his gentle ministrations. "They'll get use to it."  
  
Declining to voice her thoughts that particular subject, she knocked on Harriet's office door. "Come in."  
  
Pushing the door open, Jules was met by the stern face of Dr. Mom. Resting in her hands were sheets of lab results that were all too familiar to the young doctors. "Hi. I suppose those are mine."  
  
"Yes, they are," Harriet replied soberly as she motioned for them to set down. Glancing down again at the printout, she took a moment to study it some more before lifting her eyes to peer at the pair above her glasses. "May I ask how this came about?" lifting the leaflets. "I was under the impression Jules, that the eggs were to be a last ditch effort to have your own biological child. I had also assumed that you'd be coming to me when that time comes. I suppose that assumption was rather arrogant of me but I had hoped that our years of friendship..."  
  
"No, no, no..." Jules and Matt immediately rushed to reassure the aged OB. "It's nothing like that."   
  
"Oh?" one finely sculptured brow rose in question.  
  
"Harriet!" Jules gave a small groan of disbelief. "This wasn't planned."   
  
There was a pause as Dr. Lenning's all-knowing eyes studied the couple in front of her carefully. "This was done the all natural way?"  
  
Blushing three shades red, Slingerland wondered how it was possible that he was reduced to an awkward sixteen year-old once more by a simple look. "An unexpected result of Dr. Keating and mine recent..." he was stuck for a word as to what was happening between the two of them. Heck, he wasn't sure of anything any more as far was Jules was concerned.  
  
"Collaboration?" Harriet offered helpfully.  
  
Despite feeling her face heat up at the implication of Harriet's tone, she really had no real defense or explanation to give her friend. "Harriet, we are here for a simple routine check up and to confirm the lab's findings with you."  
  
"Oh, I think the results are very conclusive," highlighting the readings she had been reading, re-reading, and re-reading again. "Unless there is something I should know about."  
  
"Such as?" Matt asked, glad to be moving into the more technical part of the exam considering the personal side of it was making him decisively uncomfortable. But until he's had a chance to speak with Jules of where they were going with all this, he couldn't give anyone any answer that will be of any satisfaction.   
  
"You were given heavy injections of hCG during the period that you were trying to create your backup plan, have those continued?" Harriet asked her pen posed over a fresh sheet of doctor's progression chart.   
  
"No," Jules frowned. "I haven't had another since we concluded the project. There wasn't any need for it after the eggs went into storage."  
  
"I see," making a note to herself. "And recently? Have you taken any hormone supplements to increase your chances of conceiving? Estrogen injections? Herbal pills?"  
  
"No, nothing like that." Matt assured her. "This was unplanned. Jules and I are just getting to know one another. We've only been truly dating for a little over three weeks... this was hardly something we were going to jump into so suddenly."  
  
Soft blue eyes widened, "Three weeks?" The two doctors nodded their head as if answering a question from a teacher. "And the night I called Jules's apartment and you answered the phone..."  
  
Matt winced. She would have to remember that now. "That was... It was just...." He sighed and gave up. Anything he said was not going to make it any better thought how it could be worse was beyond him. Slouching in his seat, he muttered, "Bloody hell."  
  
Harriet smiled gently. "Hum..." making another quick note. "Well, I would like to draw some blood and do another work up. I have to say that this pregnancy has come at a rather inconvenient time."   
  
"Really?" Slingerland asked, the frown that graced his smooth brows an indication of his confusion over the matter. "How is that?"  
  
Taking note of the genuine concern written in those brown eyes, Harriet felt herself breath a sigh of relief for Jules sake. What she was about to tell them was not going to be easy for them to hear. "Jules, not eight months ago, you underwent a biopsy and operation for ovarian cancer. Following that, you loaded your body with hormones to produce eggs to freeze. Now under the circumstances, I was not surprised by your decision to rush from one procedure to the next. Many women have done the same due to fear that they will never be able to produce their biological child. But I have to say that it is in my opinion, both as a doctor and a friend, that you've not given your body enough time to recovery from the consecutive shock its had to endure. And while bearing children is one of the most natural thing in the universe, in your case it is not."   
  
The heavy tense silence got to Matt first. "What does that mean?"  
  
Jules reached out where he instinctively linked fingers with her. Taking a deep breath, she never took her eyes from Dr. Lenning's steady ones. "I'm looking at a high risk pregnancy." 


	16. Chapter 16

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: Something always seems to come up.   
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Question: Has anyone heard anything about Presidio Med's fate? I miss it already.  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 16  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Matthew Slingerland knew three things to be sure in life. One: women in cotton dresses were the best reasons for summer. Two: you always tread on cautious grounds when it came to women and their bodies. And three: a man is a fool if he thinks he knows anything about a woman.   
  
Shutting the door to his home, he glanced at the silent Jules as she made her way into the living, shrugging out of her coat. She hasn't said much since their appointment with Dr. Lenning earlier in the day... not that he's had much of a chance to speak with her at all. Jules had been called away to NICU as soon as they left the OB's office. And Matt had to return to his own score of patients. But during the entire ride to his place, she hardly spoke three words to him.   
  
While it was obvious that she was deep in thought, Matt had a discomforting feeling that she may be contemplating something he's not sure he could live with. Dropping his keys on the little table by the door, Matt hurried to the living room and took Jule's coat from her limp hands. "Are you hungry? I know that I said we'd go grocery shopping tonight but I figured..." she blinked at him. "We'll do it tomorrow night. How about some Chinese? Or maybe Italian? I can order some dishes and go pick them up. Or maybe they deliver? Let's me see if I can find one that..."  
  
"Matt, stop!" Jules rubbed her forehead with her fingers and sighed from deep down, so very telling of her bone weariness. "Just stop. I can't do this."  
  
His hand froze over the phone he had been reaching for. A part of him wondered if his heart was always holding its breath. "Do what?" not at all sure he wanted to hear the answer to the question.   
  
"This" indicating with her two first fingers the space between them. "I cannot do this."  
  
Straightening, he stared at her, his face a mask of blankness. "You're going to have to be more precise than that luv."  
  
Jules shook her head, her face crumbling. "I can't pretend that everything is normal cause we both know that it's not, so let's not even try okay? I can't do it right now, I don't have the energy for it." Tossing her purse down, she threw herself onto the sofa and took a deep breath.   
  
Something akin to relief sailed through Matt as he let out the breath he had been holding. For a terrifying moment, he was sure Jules was about to end what was the beginning of the first real relationship he's had since puppy love in secondary school. When he was sure his heart head returned to a regular rhythm, he came around the couch and took her into his arms. "I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was make this any harder for you than it already is."  
  
Burrowing closer to him, Jules felt a chill run down her spine. "Are you angry with me, Matt?"  
  
That took him by surprise. "What?"  
  
Lifting her head, she stared at him for a moment. "I want to know if you're mad at me?"  
  
"Why would you..."  
  
"It's no surprise to anyone that I want my own biological child, you of all people know that." She smiled when he gave a quick grin of acknowledgment. "I...I didn't do this on purpose, Matt. I won't do that to you," her soft eyes pleading for his understanding and belief in her words.  
  
"Is that what you've been worried about?" he asked, incredulous.   
  
"Well," she shrugged, unable to meet his eyes. "Given what your dad believes, I have to admit that I wouldn't be surprised if you thought that I was just using you to conceive a..."  
  
"Stop it," grabbing her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "We are beyond that kind of misunderstanding. I would never... 'never' think that you would stoop to lies. And no one will ever be able to convince me that you did this," encompassing their whole relationship with a circling of his arm, "to get pregnant. 'Especially' since you and I went through a considerable amount of trouble, not to mention embarrassment, to insure that you may someday have a biological child of your own. Hang my father's opinion."   
  
The outburst more than any words that he could have spoken convinced her. Leaning in, she kissed him softly on his angry lips. "Thank you."  
  
"Don't thank me," he replied gruffly before pulling her forward to him, crushing her lips under his for a moment, tasting fear on them and sharing his frustration and confusion from his. "Just believe me."  
  
"I do," she murmured against his lips. "Matt, I know that we should make some decisions and probably really soon, I just want you to know that I won't exclude you in any of the decision making."   
  
"Good," he pulled her into his lap, intent on having a very serious discussion on their near future. "Because I don't plan on being excluded." He pressed a firm kiss on her before shifting to get comfortable. This could take a while. One of the first things he had in mind was to make sure she understood that she was not in this alone. The second would be to talk her into moving in with him... for the sake of the baby of course. "Jules, I need you to know that..." The buzzer on the door interrupted him, having them both turning their heads toward the offensive noise. "Who the bloody hell could possibly be at the door?"  
  
Jules frowned. "Maybe you should get that."  
  
"No," he answered firmly, tipping her chin toward him. "I want to spend this evening quietly at home with you and talk about our current situation. Whoever it is can just go sod off."   
  
Giggling, she snuggled closer even as bell-ring became a loud knocking. She glanced at the door once more then back at Matt with questioning raised brows.  
  
Matt shook his head. "They'll go away."  
  
The loud knocking became an insistent pounding. "I don't think they're going away."  
  
"MATT! MATTHEW!!! ARE YOU IN???"  
  
Slingerland straightened in his seat and turned to the door. Surprise was written all over his face. "GEORGE?"  
  
"WHO THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU THINK IT WAS???" came the shouted answer.   
  
"Oh lord," Matt groaned with a sigh.   
  
"George?" Jules asked quietly. "As in your brother from England?"  
  
"That would be affirmative," he answered resignedly. "Who is more than capable of waking the whole confounded neighborhood if we don't let his sorry arse in here."   
  
Climbing off his lap reluctantly, Dr. Keating grinned at him. "I see that you're positively glowing with pleasure at the thought of reuniting with your brother."  
  
He growled at her. "Getting a lecture about the birds and the bees from Dr. Lenning right about now would be preferable." Heading for the door, he glanced over his shoulder. "Prepare yourself, George is nothing if not a witless idiot when he's upset as he seem to be now."  
  
Jules gave him a mock salute as she stood, "I'm dutifully warned."   
  
Rolling his eyes, Matt pulled opened the front down and caught his brother by the arm before the man feel on his nose. The process of pounding of the door with all his might had thrown his balance off when the once solid object gave away. Straightening, "About bloody time!"   
  
"It's nice to see you too brother," Matt replied dryly as George marched past him and into the townhouse. "Come on in, make yourself at home."  
  
"What in god's blazes have you been in the last week? I swear to you're harder to find than that over-priced, inefficient lawyer of mine. And why the hell don't you ever answer your bleeping phone like normal people do. It would have damn well save me a trip across the Atla..." he came to an abrupt halt, causing Matt to slam into his back. "What the hell?"  
  
Wiggling her fingers at him, Jules smiled and inclined her head. "Hi."   
  
George stared at her as if she were something pulled out from a magician's hat. "Who the bloody hell are you?"  
  
"GEORGE!" whacking him in the arm...hard. "Don't talk in such manner in my home."  
  
"Aww...." Rubbing the soon to the bruised area. "That hurt!"  
  
"It was suppose to," Matt snapped at him and walked over to Jules. "Darling, this uncouth ape is my brother, George Edward Slingerland III. George, this is Dr. Jules Keating."  
  
"Doctor?" he reached out a hand and shook hers firmly. "Working a bit late, aren't we?"  
  
"The healing arts doesn't get to take month long vacations, unlike some world traveling, corporate mongrels I know," he picked up the coat that George had just sat down on the chair back. "And you're not staying," tossing the coat at his brother again.   
  
"Matt, please," he whined, not caring that Jules was currently grinning from ear to ear at this endearingly loud brotherly reunion. "I need help."  
  
"You need a good divorce lawyer if I haven't missed my guess," he said, picking up the coat his brother had dropped once more. "And it'll have to wait until morning since I have no intentions of..."  
  
"Matt," Jules said soothingly as she took the crumpled up coat from Dr. Slingerland's hands just as he was about to pitch it into his brother's head. "Is that any way to treat family?" she admonished gently trying to hide her smile from him as she attempted to smooth out the wrinkled jacket.   
  
Gritting his teeth in frustration, "If you had a brother like him..."  
  
"I've got three elder brothers so don't even start with me," she said as she folded the coat and placed it on the coach just before she picked up her purse.   
  
"Where are you going with that?" Matt asked as George made himself at home and Jules headed toward the hall closet where her own coat was hanging. "Jules! Jules don't go," grabbing her purse from her. "Please," his eyes pleading with her  
  
Shaking her head, she sighed and shrugged into her winter jacket. "Listen Matt, we both know what's it's like to deal with our family. He's not going anywhere and he obvious is distressed over the situation he's in."  
  
"A situation he caused!" he argued. "Please Jules, just go upstairs, have a bath. I'll get rid of George and you and I can talk some more about..." he glanced over his shoulder at the eavesdropping George. "Good god's tooth man, will you stop being so damn nosy?"  
  
Jules grinned and leaned closer to whisper, "Did you know that your language drops into the gutters the same way your brother's does when you're upset?"  
  
He turned to glare at her. "Comparing me to that lack-wit right now is not a good idea." He took her by the shoulders. "Please Jules, just..." he sighed. This was a foreign territory to him. "Please stay."  
  
She hated that he looked so torn. Patting his cheek gently, she stopped herself from leaning up to kiss the frown away. Nosy George was watching the whole exchange with a knowing gleam and a fat smirk that she was almost tempted to smack off his face. Pulling him to the front door and away from George's perked up ears, "I think I better go. George's problems are probably going to take you all night sort through and I want to get some rest. And as much I would like to be in your arms tonight, maybe it's better for both of us if we get a little time alone to think things through. No decision made," she added quickly when he opened his mouth to protest. "Just time to think. Okay?"  
  
Matt shut his eyes, counted to ten and wondered how long it would take his mother to forgive him should he strangle her first born. "I really don't want this tonight."  
  
Grinning, "I know, I can see it in your eyes." Opening the front door, "Walk me out," she said as she took his hand and grabbed his keys from the counter. "Good night, George!" she called over her shoulder.  
  
"Don't touch anything!" Matt warned as Jules dragged him out the door.   
  
Chuckling, she walked down the steps of his townhouse with his arms around her. "Don't be too hard on him. He's got a problem of the heart and those are always the most difficult to solve."  
  
"He wouldn't have so many problems if he could keep his vows of marriage and keep it in his knickers. Or better yet, reframe from using the state of matrimony as some sort of hobby." He kissed her temple and looked around the street for an available cab to hail. "Are you sure..."  
  
"Yes," she turned and hugged him tight. "Go in there, help him cause he's family, and I'll see you tomorrow at work." Jules held out an arm just as a taxi was passing by.   
  
Putting her into the cab, he held the door open for a moment longer as he kissed her. "Call me before you go to bed."  
  
Smiling cause it touched her to see him worried about her. "Okay."  
  
He smiled for her benefit and turned to the cabby. Pulling out two twenties, he handed it to the driver. "Stay until you see her through the door."  
  
"Sure," the driver answered with a nod of his head.   
  
Thanking the man with a nod, Matt turned to her once more. "Jules, I..."  
  
"Good night, Matt," she interrupted him and kissed him through the window. "See you tomorrow morning." Then patted the cabby's seat back and was gone.  
  
Slingerland stood there on the cold empty street for a moment longer before turning back to his house. With every step he mounted, his anger built just a little more until he was contemplating on how many ways can one get away with fratricide.   
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
It's a short one cause I wanted to play a little with them. Next up... families' reactions!!!! (hee-hee) This story has kind of taken a life of it's own, hasn't it? 


	17. Chapter 17

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: Friends and family... they always seem to show up at the most inopportune time.   
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Author's Note: I'm so upset the Presidio Med had been taken off the air... again!!! (sigh) Hope you guys don't mind if I decide to play with the canon now some more, it's a consolation to having the show taken away from me.   
  
Second Author's Note: To make up to the short chapter last time, I'm making this one a little longer. But there's still no talk of the baby though. Sorry.  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 17  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
The resounding bang as the door slammed shut attested to Matt's rapidly descending mood as he stormed back into the townhouse. It took a considerable amount of control for Dr. Slingerland not to go for his only brother's throat as he walked back into his house to see that the corporate playboy was helping himself to the fine French Brandy from the crystal decanter his mother had given him when she visited last. "A gentleman always has a glass of port after dinner. It is tradition," he quoted smoothly as he threw his jacket into the armchair nearest to the dining table.   
  
"Ah dear Mamma," George grinned as the crystals clang together. "What a wonderful woman she is."  
  
"A wise one too," Matt replied as he grabbed the filled glass from George's hand and tossed half of it back without a blink. "Though she should have drown you in the bathtub at birth and save the lot of us some headaches." He finally remembered why he moved across the Atlantic Ocean. "What did you do this time?"  
  
"Why do you always assume that it was I that has committed the wrong?" George asked, pouring himself a stiff drink. "It could very well be the other way around, you know?"  
  
"Because you are usually in the wrong, Brother. Stop dancing around the subject and get on with it, I don't have the time nor patience for you skirting about." The liquor burned its way down his throat and settled warmly in his empty stomach. He sincerely hoped that Jules was having dinner soon. Perhaps he should have made her eat first before sending her off. Glancing at his watch, he made a note to himself about calling her in half an hour. Even with the worse cabbie in the world, it would still take them that long to get across town.  
  
George pouted as only a Slingerland man could. "Alice and I were going through rather rough patch."  
  
Matt nodded knowingly. It was a story he's heard too many times now. "And you decided to seek comfort in the arms of you loyal, and probably blonde, secretary."  
  
"Executive Assistant," George corrected.  
  
"Whatever," rolling his eyes at him. Settling down comfortably, "What happened? Alice walked in on the two of you as your assistant was comforting you in a manner that only a woman can?"  
  
George had the grace to flush. "Something like that."  
  
"Déjà vu?" Matt asked with a wholly un-amused look.  
  
He didn't respond. He didn't need to.  
  
Sighing cause it never seem to change with his older brother, Matt crossed his legs on the coffee table and indicated the chair across from him. "Sit down. Tell me what you and Alice have been arguing about this time." The two years that George has been married to the voluptuous Alice Witchell had been wrought with one bad patch after another from the get go. "Long hours? Frequent week-long trips? The expense accounts?" Not everyone was as tolerable of that kind of hectic schedule as his incurably merry mum.   
  
George's shoulder's slumped with exhaustion and defeat. "The woman wants some tots around."   
  
Spewing wine all over his coffee table, Matt stared at his brother for an incredulous moment. "Are you serious?"  
  
"Yes, I'm serious." George gave him a good frown. "Stay single Matt. Marriage makes for putting some awful ideas into women's heads." He sipped the wine slowly. "Swore she didn't want children when we first met. Ruins the figure and all that rut." He frowned his head and cocked his head to the side for a moment remembering a recent dinner with their father. "By the by, got an earful of your adventure here. Father said that you lent your swimmers to a colleague." His grin reflected his thoughts on the subject. "Mother thinks it an excellent method of insuring the next generation of Slingerlands. Father is throwing a fit over the legal, not to mention financial, ramifications of this little favor."   
  
"Of course dear old dad would be worried about the money first," Matt muttered without any heat. Having gone a few rounds with him over this subject, it was hardly surprising that it would be discussed with the rest of the family.   
  
"So who is the lonely broad in need of your help?"  
  
"Don't call her that," Matt warned with enough intention to have George pause.  
  
"Oh, this is serious," he tilted his head and stared at his brother for a moment. "Who is she and what kind of favor did she do for you to have you risking the wrath of father?"  
  
"Unlike you," Matt grinned, "I don't live in fear of Father getting into a snit and firing my arse. And for you information, she didn't do me any favors for..." Then he remembered Debra. "Well, she did a favor in return anyways."  
  
"So you volunteered your services," George chuckled softly. "I hope she made it worth your while."  
  
"Promised to grant me three wises and fulfill all my dreams and aspirations," Matt replied dryly. "Is there a point to all this?"  
  
"No, not really. Just thought I would bring it up," sipping wine with a little more ease. "What's happening now anyways?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"The old girl," he replied. "What did she do with your little men?"  
  
Matt was tempted to throw something heavy, heard and breakable at his brother's thick skull. "She used them to fertilized some eggs. She had ovarian cancer and underwent a rather trying and frightful experience. She's single and not seeing anyone. She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to have her own biological child. Seemed a very logical and sensible way to solve her problems."   
  
"So naturally you lent her a friendly hand out of the goodness of your heart."  
  
The way George said it curled the hairs at the nape of his neck. "What's your point?"  
  
"Please," he waved the innocent act away. "I know you Matt, you don't so something like this out of the goodness of your heart." Setting the crystal glass down, he rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. "What does she look like?"  
  
The temptation was too great this time. Reach over the glass and oak coffee table, Matt slapped his brother upside the head. "Grow up, George." Then got up to prepare some food. The alcohol was not sitting well in his empty stomach. "I thought you were here to talk about you and Alice."  
  
"We can talk about you and what's her name as well." Getting to his feet as well, George watched, rather impressed really, as Matt began to prepare a salad. "When did you learn to cook?"  
  
Matt slanted him a frown. "This is hardly gourmet cuisine. Can't you do anything as simple as..." Then he remembered the cook and maids that were always about in their childhood. Knowing George, he probably carried out that particular tradition.  
  
"I thought you have a housekeeper," snatching his hand back as Matt slapped at it when he tried to steal a slice of carrot that was currently being chopped into neat little strips.   
  
"She cleans, not cook." Matt replied, dropping some onions and looking about for that jar of olive that he knew was still about yesterday. "Besides, I'm hardly here enough for me to need a cook."  
  
"Right," took the bowels passed to him without a word. "I forget who I'm speaking to. The man who practically lives in a hospital."  
  
"A physician's career is a lifetime commitment. Unlike you, the bottom line for me isn't whether or not someone gets a paid vacation to the Bahamas. It's whether a patient gets to walk out of a hospital alive and well."  
  
"Of course," George muttered. "But good god man, couldn't you have picked something a little less consuming. All work and no play make you a very dull boy."  
  
"Not according to the rumor gill," Matt muttered rather disgruntled by that fact.   
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Nothing." Carrying the large salad bowel to the table. Glancing briefly at the clock, she noted that it would another ten minutes before he even dared to attempt to call Jules. "So Alice wants kids. I take it you are oppose to the idea?"  
  
"Not so much as oppose the idea..." George waffled for a moment.   
  
"Not something you even remotely want to consider, is it?" Matt asked with a shake of his head. He knew his brother too well. "Did you tell Alice that?"  
  
"Called me a selfish bastard," he replied with a sigh. "I don't see why. I don't think I've ever expressed any desire to be walking about with an infant in my arms. Told her right from the beginning that I wasn't interested in procreation. Don't see why she was so shocked at the idea that I don't want any now."   
  
Matt sat down and frowned at him. "And your 'assistant' agreed with you, didn't she? That you were in the rights because you had told her up front that you didn't want babies tying you down. She probably even told you that she herself wasn't interested in having any children. By the way, what is your secretary's name?"  
  
"Executive Assistant," George corrected once more. "And her name is Kelly. And yes, for your information, she has no desire to have toddlers tugging at her ankles."  
  
"Of course," dividing the greens between them. He reframed from reminding his brother that Alice had said the exact same thing while she was consoling him over his arguments with wife #3, Tiffany. And if memory served him correctly, it was over the exact same problem. Sometimes, he felt like the elder brother rather than the other way around. "Tell me something George, did you and Kelly become better friends 'after' Alice voiced her desire to have little ones of her own?"  
  
Flushing with embarrassment, he replied defensively. "I don't see how that would have any relevance to my ..."  
  
"In other words, yes," Matt shook his head and speared a cherry tomato with his fork. Jules had bought them cause she liked the shape even though she hated tomatoes. "Do you want to stay married to Alice?"  
  
George sat his fork down slowly, his eyes troubled.  
  
"Do you even want to work at saving this marriage?" Matt asked, feeling his impatience grow. "Is it even important to you? Is Alice?"  
  
He looked up and stared at those slant gray eyes. "I don't mean to hurt her."  
  
"You never mean to hurt anyone of them," Matt replied without any anger. It was pointless to argue with him over this. George can't change the way he was, not when it comes to women. "I'll call James and see if he's available to take your case. I suggest that you tell Mother and Father what happened before Alice does. Lord knows what their reaction will be."  
  
George nodded his head slowly, already dreading the conversation. While his mother was going to be easy through the phone, where he didn't have to face her looks of disappointment once more, his father would no doubt let him have it. Of course, true to form, he would probably offer to get him help on divorce settlements, as he always does. "Thanks."   
  
"Yeah." Matt glanced at the clock again. He'd give her another five minutes to get into the apartment and relax a moment before he called.   
  
"What about you, Matt?"  
  
"What about me?"  
  
"What are you going to do about Mum and Dad's view of your helping your friend?"  
  
"What do you mean?" To hell with the five minutes.  
  
"I know a couple of really good lawyers that can help you. If not to keep you from ever having any financial responsibility to a child, they can maybe get you legal rights to the donated sperms so that she cannot use them." When it was apparent that his brother was not only not in agreement but he was actively frowning at him. "You're not going to do anything to relieve Dad's mind any, are you?"  
  
"Why should I?" Matt asked getting up and reached for the phone. "I did it willingly with the knowledge that she may one day have my child. Whether she choices to allow me to support her, which I would be more than willing to do, it would be completely up to her. I'm not going to avoid from my parental duties."  
  
"Even if you had no say in whether or not there is to be child?" his eyes clearly spelling out his disbelief over his brother's naiveté.   
  
"You make unexpected pregnancies sound like such a bad thing."  
  
"It is." George practically shouted.  
  
"Why?" he looked George over his shoulder, hands pausing over the dials. "Besides, that's no longer a consideration. She's already pregnant."  
  
"WHAT???"  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Shutting the door with her heel, Jules sighed before she shrugged her coat off and hung it on the coat rack. She wasn't even sure if she had anything eatable in her refrigerator for dinner but she wasn't about to ask the cab driver to stop somewhere for food. Seeing the way Slingerland was behaving, she wouldn't put it pass him to send out an APB on her if she didn't answer the phone on the first ring if he did a spot check or something.   
  
"Oh well, there's always can soup," though the stuff made her sick to her stomach. She literally lived on that stuff through college and med. school.   
  
Slipping her schools off, she padded into the living room and collapsed on the couch. Staring off into space, she recapped the event of her day in her mind. She thought nothing could top the nuclear bomb Slingerland dropped on her this morning... but boy when you're wrong...  
  
Hands slipping protectively over her flat belly, Jules wondered for a moment about the life within. Would it be a girl or a boy? Will he or she have her father's eyes and her mother's nose? Will they be tall like Matt? Or petite like herself? Would they inherit her tendency for freckles? Or will they have the perfect complexion that Slingerland managed to draw from his illustrious gene pool?   
  
But more importantly...Will the baby be healthy?  
  
God, how many cases does she handle a day that involves sick children that were born with their defects? She sees these parents suffer because their little ones suffer and wonder if she could hold up the way she sees these parents doing.   
  
Taking a deep breath, "I'm getting way ahead of myself here." Nodding her head determinedly, she headed for the kitchen. "Tea instead of coffee, fruit instead of sugar." She made a face at the half rotten apples in the fruit bowl. "Okay, maybe tomorrow."  
  
Ring, ring...  
  
She almost grinned. She knew he couldn't resist. Picking up the phone on the wall, she poured herself juice. "You know, someone could get the wrong idea and think you care if you go on this way."  
  
There was silence at on the other end. "Jules?"  
  
Definitely not Slingerland. "Oh... hi Rae."  
  
"Hello to you too," she grinned from her end of the phone. "Slingerland ushered you out of there so quickly that I didn't really have a chance to talk to you after work. How are you doing?"  
  
"Like you don't know already," cradling the phone between her shoulder and ear, she found a can opener in the drawers. Chicken noodle looked good.   
  
Rae shifted the phone from one ear to the other as she tossed pre-prepared stir-fry into the saucepan. "I spoke with Harriet before I left. She stayed to deliver two. Told me about the high risks you're facing." It wasn't until she had she was turning the rice that she realized that she had prepare too much. Enough for two... "Have you and Slingerland talked about it yet?"  
  
She stirred the thick soup with one hand and shifted the telephone with the other. "Could you hold on a second while I grab another phone. This one just isn't working for me while I try to make dinner."  
  
"Go," she ordered. "God knows we don't need you skipping anymore meals. Especially not now."  
  
Grinning, Jules turned down the fire and went into her bedroom to get the hands-free phone her brother had given her last winter. Josh gets lazier and lazier with each passing year, even a simple phone call has to be done with the utmost ease, though at the moment she was glad for the little handy device. Hooking the headpiece over her head, "Okay, I'm back. And to answer the previous question, just so you don't think that I'm avoiding it, we were going to tonight but a bit of emergency forced us to put it off for another day."  
  
"What kind of an emergency?"  
  
"The kind that involved his brother flying half way across the globe to show up at his door unannounced," she grinned just remembering Matt's reaction to that little bit of eccentricity. God she loved to befuddle look on him. It only made him more endearing. "I thought it would be better to leave the two of them alone to work out whatever was the problem."  
  
"Good idea," Rae sighed as she grabbed Tupperware out of the cupboard. Looks like she is going to have stir-fry for lunch tomorrow. "There's nothing that brings out the worse in men than siblings."  
  
"Yeah, I kind of got the feeling. Matt was less than thrill with the idea that he was going to end up spending the night with his brother rather than me," she laughed and turned off the stove.   
  
"Getting back to the point," searching the drawers for a fork, "Have you gotten all the statistics on high risk pregnancies?"  
  
"I'm a pediatrician and a neonatal specialist, Rae. I wrote some of those statistics," she appeared to be lacking in soupspoons. Funny how she never realized that. Matt had a wonderful full set of utensils, from salad forks to dessertspoons. Oh well, teaspoon will have to do. "I know what I'm facing right now. I'm in the sixty-eight percentile, not great but still do able."  
  
"Does Matt know all the numbers?"  
  
"No," adding pepper to the soup before she thought better of it. "He wasn't too happy to hear them either. Thirty-three percent of those with high-risk pregnancies don't make it through the first trimester. Forty-five percent of those don't make it pass the second. Ten to twelve percent become premies and end up with birth defects including weak organs in their bodies. Six percent of those infants don't make it pass their first month, even with our fabulous neonatal unit. Yeah... Matt was thrilled to hear about those."   
  
Rae paused in placing the saucepan into the sink. "He's really scared, isn't he?"  
  
"Yeah," not noticing the soft curiosity in her friend's tone. "But you know what scares him even worse?"  
  
Rae raised a brow. "What?"  
  
"The thought that I might end this pregnancy," and burned her tongue on the heat infused spoon.   
  
There was a long pause as Rae's hand stilled on its search for a fork. "Are you?"  
  
"Am I what?" wondering why she ever thought can soup was good.  
  
"Keeping all your options open."  
  
"You mean am I giving abortion some serious thoughts cause of the high risk?" She paused, really thinking about it... for two seconds. "No."  
  
"So..."  
  
"So, my options now are how many different methods I can take to prevent anything from happening to me and my baby. First of all, I think Harriet will agree with me on this, I should cut back on my hours. Matt's always complains about it anyways, though I don't see him working any less than me. Second, I think I need a couple more tests to see how I'm doing physically and what I can do to improve my health. God knows I haven't been too great with it lately... though I have been having very good breakfasts," thanks to Matt's insistence the first meal of the day every day.   
  
"And you'll have and Harriet here to make sure you get regular check ups."  
  
"Every month on the hour, by the hour," she grinned and glanced at the clock. It was still early yet. "Hey, I think I'm going to pop a video in and spend the night in front of the tub and vege. Want to join me? Or do you have other plans?"  
  
"Plans?" Rae's fork paused halfway to her mouth.   
  
"Yeah," grinning as she turned the faucet on to rinse her bowl. "With a certain tall, dark and Greek surgeon?"  
  
"Shut up and stop listening to hospital rumors," Rae admonish, wondering if the heat at her cheeks were from the hot soup or not.   
  
"Why? Isn't that what they're there for?"  
  
"JULES!" laughing.  
  
The clicking interrupted Keating as she was about to sass her friend some more. "Hold on second, that's probably Matt calling to check in on me."  
  
"Sure," and smiled into her dinner.   
  
Pressing the flash button, "Hello?"  
  
"Well it's about time. I thought I was going to have to call the state troopers out on you."  
  
For a moment, Jules Keating's brilliant mind blanked out. "Josh?"  
  
"I'm sorry, were you expecting someone else?" Joshua Keating replied with an almost visible grin. "How is my favorite little sister?"  
  
"You mean your only sister." Jules grinned happily. With everything else going on in her life, she's hardly had time to get in contact with anyone in her family. Even the family gathering at Thanksgiving had been a hurried event where she flew in, had dinner then flew out again that same night, coming back in time to catch three NICU cases. "Hang on, I've got Rae on the other line. I'll just be a moment."  
  
"How is the fine Dr. Brennan?" Josh asked slyly.   
  
"Way out of your league, Big Brother," Jules laughed then clicked over. "Hey, Rae?"  
  
"Still here," she answered as she rinsed the dishes before popping them into the dishwasher for a full load.   
  
"I've gotta go. My brother Josh is on the other line."  
  
"Okay," Rae replied amiably. "You going to tell him about the baby?"  
  
"Tell him, the biggest blabber mouth in the family, before I tell my parents? Yeah, and I'm going to go pierce my belly and tattoo 'stupid' on my forehead."  
  
Rae laughed. "Have fun talking to your brother. I'll see you tomorrow morning."  
  
"Bye," then clicked over. "Josh, you still there?"  
  
"Would I hung up on you?" he asked innocently.  
  
"You have before."  
  
"A mistake on my part." Settling into his favorite ratty chair, and on the phone with his favorite family member, Josh was a very satisfied young man. "So how are you kiddo? Haven't heard from you in a while and you know how mom is about us checking in on one another."   
  
"Did she tell you to check up on me?"  
  
"She tells everyone to check up on you," he laughed drinking beer from a long neck bottle. "You're her baby. She will forever be worried about you."  
  
"Not true," Jules reminded him as she dropped popcorn into her popper. "She actually said that she would stop worrying about me the day I get married and have a guy around to worry about me."  
  
"So get married and get her off your back."   
  
"Spoken like a man," Jules put the kettle on for tea, wondering if she had any left from when Matt was showing her the proper way to brew English breakfast tea. "You know what? Why don't I make you a deal? I'll get married when you do."  
  
"I'd make an old maid out of ya," Josh laughed and took a drag of beer again. "Serious though, Jules. You should get married. Let a man take care of you for a while so you don't have to work so hard. Have yourself a horde of kids so I can spoil them and make myself their favorite uncle."   
  
"You know, I think you just set the women's movement back by about 50 years," she complained half-heartedly. Walking over to the thermostat, she adjusted the temperature to the room. It was getting much more chilly than expected.   
  
"Seriously though, why not let some man take care of you, love you and protect you? I don't see anything wrong with that?"  
  
"I don't see anything wrong with having someone to love and marry either, I just don't want to be marrying for the wrong reasons... like being taken care of," she poured out popcorn into a large bowl and added butter to the hot snack.   
  
"All right, all right," Josh muttered. "It was just a suggestion."  
  
"A bad one," she replied relentlessly. Hum... Romantic comedy or goof-ball? "So what are you up tonight? No fine beauty in your arms?"  
  
"Hey, sisters are not supposed to know about things like that." Josh grumbled, more than a little embarrassed every time Jules makes any mention of his sex life. It's strange how he's never quite outgrown that little oddity.   
  
"Why not?" Jules asked, fingering the "Love in the Afternoon" DVD Slingerland had given her last week. Since she was in need of happily-ever-after, she decided it was a good one to see. "And why aren't you dating anyone steadily? One would think that with your looks, charms and fat bank account, you'd have popped out a few grandchildren for Mom by now, legitimate or otherwise."  
  
"Hey, hey, hey..." wondering if he was blushing. "I will have you know that I am very careful about fathering children."  
  
"You don't have any."  
  
"That's right. I am very careful about such things. I don't want my kids to grown up without one parent or the other, especially if that missing parent is me. I think our loving parents have taught us better." He studied the new projection screen TV he picked up last week. With no one in his life to occupy the hours between sleep and work, he wasted time by indulging in expensive and elaborate toys for his state of the art home. Definitely need at least a seven-piece speaker system to do the new TV justice. "Since Jeff and I aren't planning on taking the big plunge and Jerry has sworn off having any more kids, it's up to you to provide Mom that big brawling family she's always wanted."  
  
"Right, leave it to the woman with one ovary to have kids," she snorted her amusement as Maurice Chevalier walked onto the screen. The man could probably read a cookbook and still make it look fascinating and deliriously funny. There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "Josh?" It wasn't like her brother not to have a quirky comeback for one of her sarcastic comments.   
  
"How are you feeling, kid?" the gravity in his tone had Jules mentally kicking herself in the rear.   
  
"I'm doing fine, doing great in fact. Not a trace of cancerous cell in my body now and I'm well on my way to training for the LA marathon."  
  
"Jules..."  
  
"Josh..."  
  
"We scared the hell out of us." His voice raised a notch as he remembered listening to the panicked phone call from their mother at midnight when Jules finally got around to informing anyone in the family what she was going through. "Didn't help that we were the last people on earth to know about it either!"  
  
"I didn't want to worry you guys," she replied with sigh.  
  
"Not good enough," he snapped back. "You are my sister and I have the right to know when you're in trouble or when you need me."  
  
"There was nothing you, Jeff, Jerry, or Mom and Dad could have done."  
  
"We could have been there for you so you didn't have to do it alone."  
  
"I wasn't alone!!!" the argument was pointless and endless, they've only rehash this a hundred times now. "Can we please not do this again?"  
  
For a moment, Josh was tempted to say no, just to be contrary. But he didn't like reliving those hair-raising moments as he sat in the airport, waiting for the next flight into San Francisco and seeing his sister's headstone in his mind's eye. "Okay, let's not talk about it anymore."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Did you get your eggs?"  
  
"What?" the turn of subjects made no sense to her.  
  
"Your eggs? You said something about getting eggs for the future or something like that. I wasn't paying much attention when you were talking about it. I was watching a game at the time, I think."  
  
"Great, a momentous decision in my life and my brother pays more attention to his football game than to me."  
  
"It was tennis and it was a good game. Stop avoiding the subject. Did you get your eggs or not?"  
  
"I got my eggs," she answered exasperated. "And for your information, the conversation we were having, though I was apparently the only one involved in it, was over what I should do about the insemination part of it."  
  
"The what?"  
  
She grinned as Gary Cooper is befuddled by the ever-lovely Audrey Hepburn. She could only wish to imitate Hepburn's elegance. "Insemination. Fertilization."  
  
"Thank you, Dr. Ruth. I do know what it means." The impatience was beginning to come through his voice. "Care to tell me why..."  
  
"Cause the eggs have to be fertilized before they can be frozen. The thawing process destroys unfertilized eggs. The one-sided conversation we had was about how to go about finding decent sperms for my eggs. You suggested going to a bar."  
  
Josh stared at the screen in front of him blankly. "I did?"  
  
"Yeah, but in your defense, I actually asked how I could go about finding myself a guy."  
  
"And I told you to go to a bar?" he asked, incredulously. No sister of his, especially not his only sister, is going to be some bait for the horn-dogs that prowl the bar scenes. "No, no, no kid, you cannot go to a bar looking for the future father of your little eggs. We cannot have that. Mom would absolutely have a cow if she were to know that you are frequenting bars and looking for..."  
  
"Stop, stop, stop, you idiot." She was laughing hard enough to hurt herself now. "I'm not going to go to some bar and jump the first clean guy with a semi decent degree. Besides, the eggs need to be frozen, meaning that they have been inseminated outside the body. No sex!"  
  
Josh could feel himself turning red. There was something a little disturbing about talking to your little sister about sex. "Okay, okay, I got it. Lay off."  
  
"Put your mind to rest, Joshua. I've got a sperm donor and everything went off without a hitch."  
  
"Wait, you did it already?"  
  
"It's been done for like three months now." Rolling her eyes, she munched on more popcorn. "Hey, I was thinking that for Christmas, we can..."  
  
"Whoa there... hold on now. Let my mind catch up with your mouth. You froze your eggs?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Three months ago."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"And your health right now is..."  
  
She pouted for a moment, not liking the fact that she was going to have to lie. "I'm in good health. Iron levels are a little low, but nothing red meat and spinach can't fix in a jiffy." She grinned at the outrageous scene on the TV. Slingerland would enjoy this. "Look, I'm doing good. I'm not getting married. And I think that we should all chip in and buy Mom and Dad an Alaskan cruise for Christmas."   
  
"Why Alaska? It's cold and there's like big fishes out there," he replied spontaneously then shook his head. "Back up, Juliet."  
  
"Julia," she corrected immediately. "And Mom's been talking about wanting to do that cruise for some time now. And they're not big fishes, they're call whales."   
  
"Only cause Dad was too chicken when the time came to name you to tell Mom that he wanted to call you Juliet. And I know they're call whales, but they're still big and they live in the water."   
  
Jules winced. "Josh..."  
  
"Who's the donor?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Who donated the sperms for your eggs?"  
  
"No one you know."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes, why would I lie to you?" outraged by the very thought.  
  
"Cause you know you can since I'm a couple of thousand miles away." He ran a quick hand through his hair. "Was it through a sperm bank?"  
  
"That route kind of went dry."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Don't ask, not a good experience."  
  
"So it's someone you know?"  
  
Jules touched her stomach for a moment, thinking of the life within, and the man that was responsible. It is going to be interesting to see what kind of reaction her family was going to have... Actually, she could probably already guess what kind of reaction her brothers are going to have. Well, at least they didn't do it with the frozen eggs. "Yeah, it's someone I know."  
  
Josh cursed, silently and violently, and resisted the urge to put his fist through the nearest wall. "Is he going to cause trouble?"  
  
"What?" startled by the question.   
  
"Is the guy going to cause problems in the future? I'm sure that you and him have an agreement of some sort but you know how people can be. Did you get a lawyer for this? I mean did you guys have to sign any..."  
  
"Josh, wait a minute. What are you saying?" not quite believing that she was having this conversation with him.   
  
"Did he sign away his rights and all that?" he asked feeling unease grow when Jules made no reply. "Did you at least get an oral agreement that he wasn't going to try to claim any rights to the child when and should you have any by him?"  
  
"What are you, my lawyer?"  
  
"Jule!"  
  
"No, no, and no, okay? There wasn't anything formal or informal about the arrangement." Not that it would be any good now that that route no longer needed to be looked at... assuming that this pregnancy went off without a hitch and there aren't any... no, no, she wasn't even going to think that way. "Look Josh, I don't want to go into this with you okay. Can we please keep in mind that this is merely a backup plan and that..."  
  
"Jules, you cannot be too careful when it comes to [click] of thing. What if he decides that [click] to be a father to a child that he [click] rights to? What the hell is that [click] noise?"  
  
"Watch your language Josh and it's known in the sane circles as call-waiting. Hold on," and clicked over, glad to get away from the tirade of questions from his favorite brother. If this was the reaction she was going to get about eggs in storage, she really has to rethink telling the family about the baby fathered by the same guy. "Hello?"  
  
"Hello, luv. Did you have dinner?" Matt shielded away at and covered his other ear. The need to throw something at George was becoming overpowering.   
  
"Yeah, I just finished and was sitting down to relax a little before... Why is your brother cursing like a drunken sailor?"  
  
Moving away as George let loose a string of adjectives that he knew wasn't learned at Eaton or Oxford, Matt grimaced and wondered at his own idiocy. "I told him about the pregnancy. You can guess what his reaction is."  
  
Jules raised a brow as she listened to a rather unfound estimation of her morals. "Well, he certainly has a high opinion of me."  
  
Turning his head, "Will you kindly shut your bloody trap!?!" then turned back to the phone. "I apologize for his uncivilized behavior. The family has spent some time now trying to correct the mistake, but the bastard has the luck of the devil and managed to escape every conceivable death trap we've set."   
  
Laughing, Jules cradled the phone and ignored the fact that her brother was on the other line. "Everything going okay with his problem?"  
  
"Looks like he will be headed for divorce once more," he sighed and ignored George as the man instantly started in about telling strangers about personal problems. "With his track record and my father's non-existence in my childhood years, they wonder why I've avoided the parson's trap." His brows came together as the truth of the statement hit him harder than intended.   
  
The silence that followed had Jules clearing her throat uncomfortably. "Well, I'll leave you to your brother and his many woes. I've got my own brotherly problems to deal with on the other line. Unless you called for another reason other than to check up on me and made sure I had eaten?"  
  
"Jules, I..." then stopped himself. He didn't know what to say to make it any better without lying to her, an act he simply will not do. "No, I just wanted to know that you were all right."  
  
"I am," she assured him softly, suddenly feeling tired and down. "I'm a big girl Matt. I can take care of myself, been doing it for many years now." And will be doing it for many more to come... with or without him.  
  
"Right," unsure what to do now. The tone in her voice was more than evidence enough that he put his foot in it. "Jules, about what I said..."  
  
"Matt, I really have to get back to Josh," she interrupted, not wanting to get into it right now. "He's not known for his patience and I really don't want to deal with him in a worse mood than he is right now."  
  
"All right then," he rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Sleep tight, I'll see you tomorrow morning."  
  
"Sure," finger already reaching for the flash button.  
  
"Jules, would you like me to come pick up you tomorrow morning?" he asked tentatively and with hope.  
  
She hesitated. It was on the tip of her tongue to say yes. "No, thank you though. It'd be wasting your time since it's so out of your way. I can take the trolley and get there well before you have to come in."  
  
Disappointed, he rallied his spirit best he could. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah, Matt. I'm sure."  
  
"All right then," nodding to himself. "I'll see you tomorrow?"  
  
"Yeah. Good night."  
  
"Good night, Jules."  
  
Clicking over, Jules was suddenly hit with the enormity of what has happened. "Josh?"  
  
"Still here, though lord knows why I put up with you always putting me on hold."  
  
Her throat tightened on her. "Josh?"  
  
Hand depressing the power button on his television, he leaned forward in his chair, hand on the earpiece of the head set he had managed to put on while on hold. "Jules? Hey, what happened, baby sister?"  
  
She reached for the remote control to the DVD player. Turning off the happy train station scene, she pressed a hand to her mouth, as if to hold her fears in. "Josh, I need to tell Mom and Dad something and I'm not sure how."  
  
"What? Who was on the other line, Jules?"  
  
"Um... Josh, don't be mad okay?"  
  
"Sure," holding his own fears in. "What happened?"  
  
"It's a long story," she managed to laugh pathetically. "A really complicated story."  
  
"Well," leaning back in his chair, "I don't have any plans for the evening other than to sit here and listen to my baby sister tell me what's going on in her life."  
  
Jules shook her head and sighed. "Well, it kind of all began when someone offered to do me a really huge favor..."  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
To be continued... obviously. I'm not so evil that I would just leave off here.   
I would love some feed back on what you think of it so far. 


	18. Chapter 18

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: Oh the joys of reaping the benefits of one's reputation and slip of the mouth.   
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Author's Note: Boy this story just keeps going, doesn't it? (sigh) I want to wrap this story up soon and with a happy ending. Let's face it, we all like happy endings. I'll take suggestions from the peanut gallery as to how you'd like to see this end cause I'm kind of just tagging along for the ride, this story seems to be writing itself now.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 18  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"You look awful," Dr. Harriet Lenning murmured softly as she passed the two clips to the waiting nurse's hands. "Take these and have them move Mrs. Travis to room six, we're going to need more space if her whole family plans on attending the birth."  
  
Jules Keating waited until Joanne had left to carry out Harriet's orders before replying. "I feel terrible."  
  
"Not enough sleep? Cause you look like a raccoon."  
  
"Something like that," she didn't mention that she had spent a total of four hours on the phone with her brother who, after fifteen minutes of venting his spleen, had been quite supportive. "I've got a full load today and I've got NICU tonight."  
  
"Call Dr. Highberg and have him come in," Harriet suggested in her most reasonable tone. "I don't want you over doing it, especially in your first trimester." She looked at the young doctor over the rim of her eyeglasses. "Anita!"  
  
"Yes?" came the redheaded assistant. Her eyes looked from one doctor to the other.  
  
"Call Hal Highberg and tell him and I'm asking him be on call for NICU during the night shift. Move some of Dr. Keating's afternoon patient, the ones that walk in without appointments, onto who ever else is on call today." When Anita merely stood here, not moving a muscle, Dr. Kenning stared at her. "That's all, Anita."  
  
"Oh," the wide eyed startled look made her appear almost owlish before she jumped into action, reaching for the phone.  
  
"Harriet..." Jules started.  
  
"Don't," she murmured softly as she made at note of her own number of patients. Every year she remind herself that she was nearly retirement age, and every year she never find the time to hand in her letter of resignation. Perhaps it was because of the faces of those beautiful newborns she got to hold on a daily basis. "I want you happy, healthy and carrying this child to term." She glanced at the hesitation on Dr. Keating's face. "You are planning on do just that, right?"  
  
Jules thought about the options that Josh and her had gone through last evening. Though abortion did not come up explicitly, it had been on the backs of both their minds. "I haven't had a chance to talk to Matt yet."  
  
Dr. Lenning reframed from asking exactly what that meant as she walked the doctor in question come around the corner and spotted the women he had obviously been looking for. "Well, here's your chance." Nodding her head toward the approaching doctor, she made a quick retreat and made a mental note to herself to talk to Anita again about keeping Jules's schedule light.  
  
Bracing herself and schooling her features into that of a friendly smile, Jules turned, stared and burst into laughter.  
  
Draped across Dr. Slingerland's left arm was a big white floppy bear that was just meant to be cuddled with. The doctor was dressed in a charcoal gray suit that had been liberally sprinkled the white fur from the bear. In his other hand, he carried a stack of charts that someone had no doubt just thrown at him.   
  
"Not so funny," Matt growled and dropped the stack of charts on the counter and handed the stuff animal into her hands. "Did you know that there is a distinctive difference between teddy bears and polar bears?"  
  
Jules tilted her hand and patted the soft fur of the bear. "Polar bears have a longer snout?"   
  
Dutifully impressed. "I'm glad someone knows it. I got a ten minute lecture on the subject from the eighty year old grandmother running the toy shop." Sighing as he rubbed the tension from his neck, he looked at her to note that her cheeks were pale and her eyes had dark circles around them. "A gift from my brother for his appallingly rude behavior last evening."  
  
"It's okay," she replied, no longer feeling the strain of the forced smile as she looked down at the bear. It was awfully sweet and she had no doubt that Matt Slingerland bullied his brother into buying it, not that she minded in the least. It was going to look fabulous across her bed. "He was understandably upset with life in general."  
  
"But no need to take it out on the rest of the world," he replied, a little unsure as to how to proceed. She was standing here, not meeting his eyes and he felt like a fool. "Jules, can we talk?"  
  
"Of course," she replied a little too cheerily. "But I have patients right now. How about we do it later? Lunch?"  
  
Slingerland almost winced at the manner in which she was already beginning to slide away from him. "Lunch sounds fabulous."  
  
"Great," picking up her charts and hugging the bear in her arms, "Then I'll see you at lunch, my office."  
  
"I'll have them send up trays."  
  
"Don't forget ice cream," she reminded him with a silver quick smile.   
  
Matt frowned. "Jules, you really want to think about cutting out some of that sugar in your diet. It's not good for the..." the raised brow that she directed at him had him backtracking quickly. "On the other hand, they say that a mother's happiness effects that baby's overall attitude and health during those important months while they're in gestation. If it's ice cream you'd like, it's ice cream you shall have. Strawberry or vanilla, luv?"  
  
Something flickered in her eyes at the causal endearment he seemed to have gotten into the habit of calling her of late. Shaking off the sudden unease, she smiled at him. "Vanilla."  
  
"Vanilla it is," he reached out to stop her as she began to turn away. "Jules..."  
  
Her big beguiling eyes stared back at him. "Yes?"  
  
Fighting the urge to lean down and taste the strawberry lip-gloss she customarily wore, his thumb rubbed gently at a patch of exposed skin just above her elbow, sending a light shiver of awareness down her spine. "I missed you last night."  
  
It was at the tip of her tongue to repeat the words to him but something held her back. It was perhaps that same spark of self-preservation that had her crying on the telephone last evening that kept her from blurting out the fact that she had awoken expending him to be there. But she held it back, "I have patients."  
  
Disappointment warred with understanding in his dark eyes. "Of course," reluctantly letting for of her arm. "I'll see you later."  
  
"Later," she nodded and made her escape, holding, praying that something came up to keep her away for a little while longer. She wasn't sure she could rebuild all her defenses that horribly wonderful man before noon. Burying her face in the soft fur of the bear, she took a deep breath and prayed for strength.  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
"SLINGERLAND!!!"  
  
Wincing, Matt stopped himself from giving into the need to scream at the top of his lungs. This would be the fourth interruption to his lunch date with Jules. Turning around and bracing himself, "Hello Dr. Jordan, what can I do for you on this lovely day?"  
  
"Don't you hello me!!!" Face dark with fury, she pointed an accusing finger at him. "Tell me you didn't just send Mr. Mackey home without consulting me first."  
  
Tilting his head, "Funny, I thought Mr. Mackey was my patient."  
  
"I was in on the consult," she replied with less heat but no less determination. "Did you know that the man has a heart murmur loud enough to give me nightmares?"  
  
"Did you know that he's had that for the last five years?" he asked in response, glancing discreetly at his watch. "Can this wait until after I've gotten a bite to eat? I'm positively ravenous now and you know how it is when hunger sets in. Besides which, there was no way I would have been able to keep Mr. Mackey here since he is determine to go home in time to see his grandson play pitcher at the state championship."  
  
"I don't care if he's son was getting sworn in to the Presidency of the United States, I want him back here," she replied without any concern over the volume of her command. "Now get on that phone and get him back here." When he hesitated, she frowned darkly at him. "What?"  
  
Squirming for no good reason, other than he was faced with a forcefully angry woman, "I would but..."  
  
"But?"" raising a questioning brow at him.  
  
"I'm supposed to be somewhere else right now."  
  
She gave him an admonishing look. "Where?"  
  
"Lunch... with Jules," his eyes pleading with her to understanding.  
  
Rolling her eyes, Letty resisted the urge to give him a quick kick in the rear. "Go," pointing toward the stairwell.   
  
"Thank you, you are a kind and most generous soul." Matt flashed a killer smile and backed away slowly praying she doesn't change her mind. "I'll call Mr. Mackey as soon as..."  
  
"I'll call the stubborn man," she said waving him away. "Norman!" she called as Slingerland made his escape. "Get me Mr. Mackey on the phone. And what the hell did you put in the coffee this morning?"  
  
"It's Orange Roast with a hint of Cinnamon in it." Norman flipped open the appointment book and logged Mr. Mackey's name into the computer.   
  
The look of wholly un-amusement should have warned the receptionist. "Here's a hint for you: if my coffee doesn't taste like Columbia roast by 1:00PM, someone's going to have to call your mother with extremely bad news about an unfortunate accident."  
  
Pouting, Norman nodded his head resignedly. "Yes, Ma'am."  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
"For cafeteria food, this isn't bad," Jules said through a mouthful of greasy fries generously dipped in ketchup. "Did they remember to send up ice cream?"  
  
"Yes," he answered reaching over to let the plastic lid of the small Styrofoam cup. "And I asked them to bring up both kinds so you can mix if you want to."   
  
"Oh, good idea," she took another healthy bite of her tuna melt and sipped the orange juice that had come with the meal. "So," hoping to forestall any talk of what they need to talk about. Lunchtime, in the middle of the day, with only an hour each to spare, was not conductive of any serious conversation. "How has your day been?"  
  
Considerate of her addiction to caffeine, he to decided to have juice with his lunch as well. Placing the cup down slowly, he studied her with eyes that were just a little too dark with intent. "Are we ever going to talk about it? I know that George interrupted last night and I fully apologize for that. But I honestly think that we should at least..."  
  
"I only asked how your day has been," she complained quietly, placing the sandwich on her plate having suddenly lost all her appetite. "Can't we have at least a simple lunch without having to make a production out of..."  
  
"Stop," he pleaded with her, his eyes relying his calm outer appearance. Running a hand through his hair, he shook his head at her. "Jules, tell me what you plan on doing about the baby? Just tell me so that I know."  
  
A little taken aback by the outburst, she shielded away from him. Taking a deep breath, Jules took a moment to calm her suddenly erratic heart. She lifted her head to speak just as Slingerland leaned across the desk and took her face into his hands, pressing a kiss sent shockwaves of awareness through her entire system. Before she had a chance to respond, he pulled away from her slowly, lingering on the last contact.  
  
"Lord I missed you last night," he muttered more to himself than to her. Opening his eyes, he watched her lashes flutter for a moment. "Jules, I need to know so I need to know what to do."  
  
Still keeping her eyes closed, she's come to realize it was harder to think and look into those big eyes of his, "I going to keep the baby."  
  
Matt let out the breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding. Something painfully tight released in his chest and he took a moment to just let himself absorb the information.   
  
Jules opened her eyes and watched the non-reaction with part disappointment, part relief. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, what she wanted... everything was just happening so fast. "Look, what we talked about before I can fully apply here. No commitment, no support, no..."  
  
"What are you talking about?" he asked quickly, his eyes snapping to hers sharply.   
  
Startled, "The oral agreement we had when we did the insemination. You are under no obligations to supply me with anything. The baby would be mine and mine alone and that you would not have to..."  
  
He grabbed her by the shoulder, jerking her to a stop. "THIS IS NOT SOME SPERM DONATION!!!" he took a deep breath and calmed himself. Yelling at a pregnant woman was not the best course to take, under any circumstances. "Jules, haven't you figure out that this isn't the same thing? That I'm not going to just walk away from you and this baby? This isn't my lending a hand in your quest to have your own biological child in the future. This is you and me in bed creating a life together."   
  
She opened her mouth to say something but he interrupted her to a gentle shake.   
  
"Uh, uh," shaking his head at her. "Me, you and this baby will be doing the whole pregnancy thing together. I'm not going to be excluded, remember? You said so last evening."  
  
"Yes but you said..."  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"This isn't how you planned," she replied softly, almost too softly for him to hear.   
  
"And what does that matter?" he asked, tilting her chin to look at him. The look of concern in his eyes touched her. "This is life, not everything gets to be as we planned. I'm sure you hadn't planned on needing a sperm donor cause you're chances of conceiving were reduced by an unexpected health crisis. I hadn't planned on becoming a donor; it wasn't something a boy plans on doing when he grows up. I hadn't plan on getting into such an incredible relationship as the one you and I share, but here it is. And I could not feel more blessed." He leaned in and kissed her soothingly on the lips. Everything about her tasted sweet. "I'm going to do this right, we're going to do this right."  
  
"Matt..." she closed her eyes, feeling the heat from his lips against hers.   
  
"Move in with me," he asked unceremoniously.   
  
Her eyes popped open. "What?"  
  
"Move in with me," Matt repeated leaning back just a slight bit to see the stunned look on her face. It certainly deflated his ego to see the look of disbelief. "What's the matter?"  
  
Jules blinked her eyes a couple of times, not exactly sure if she heard him correctly. "I'm sorry, did you just ask me to move in with you?"  
  
"Yes," nodding his head slowly. "I may not have a terribly large townhouse but it does have two bedrooms and all the accommodations one can ask for in a home. It is slightly larger than yours and you did say that you enjoy my bathtub quite a lot. We can convert the guest room into a nursery and the second bathroom will become primary yours if you wish, I hardly ever use the thing."  
  
She was going to kick herself for asking it, but... "If the second bedroom becomes a nursery then where exactly am I sleeping?"  
  
The frowned creased the brows on Slingerland's wide forehead. "With me of course." He leaned back even more, looking at her slightly bedazzled face. "What exactly did you think I was asking when I said that you should move in?"  
  
Jules was having a terrible time sorting out all that's going through her head, not to mention her heart. "I thought... I... Matt, last night, you said that you have no intentions of ever getting married. If I move it..."  
  
"I said no such thing!" Indignant that she would think that though it came pretty damn close. He knew that slip of the tongue was going to cause him trouble. "I just said that I... Look, my family doesn't have a great track record when it comes to what is termed as a normal, sane marriage. And fatherhood, my father's example is the one that no man should ever try to follow. I've been wary... and rightly so, of ever coming close to that because I don't want to make the same mistakes that I see them making. You can understand that, can't you luv?"  
  
Jules thought back to the night at the sushi bar, then to the aggravated phone message from his brother and could only nod her head. "Okay, I can see why you'd be a little less than inclined to think about the subject of marriage when you've had such 'great' examples to follow." She smiled and shook her head. "But my moving in with you, after only..."  
  
"We're good together," he said coming around the table to pull her to her feet. He held her for a moment, just placed his arms around, rested his cheek against the baby fine hair and breathed in her scent. She felt good in his arms, like his arms had been waiting for her his entire life. "You cannot tell me that you have not enjoyed the time we've spent together, or the nights." His teasing grin couldn't help but bring a smile to her face.   
  
"You're incorrigible." Swatting him lightly as she rested her cheek against his shoulder. The aftershave he used was soft, almost gentle, but distinctively masculine. "But seriously Matt, moving in together..."  
  
"Will reduce the stress and work you would have to put up with during the most miraculous time of your life," he finished with a smile. "Look, you don't have to answer me now. Just think about it and we'll talk about it some more tonight. Dinner? My house? No George and I'll get cheesecake."  
  
"Are you bribing me with desserts?"  
  
"Whatever it takes to get you home with me," kissing her forehead as if she was a child.   
  
Jules made a face. "I guess we should talk some more about what we're going to do. Not that I'm agreeing to this whole moving in idea yet."  
  
She had said yet. Which is as good as yes in his mind. Grinning from ear to ear, he nodded his head. "I have to meet George for coffee this afternoon to go over some details on finances and what to do about this prenuptial agreement that he and Alice signed. I should be done around seven. Will you wait for me and let me drive you? Or would you rather go there first?"  
  
"I'm on duty until six."  
  
"Which means you probably won't actually leave until seven or eight," he replied with a sigh. "Time to cut back on your hours, my luv."  
  
"Harriet is definitely seeing to that. If she had it her way, I'd be on my back through this whole thing," she pouted. "I'm suppose to oversee NICU tonight too but she's calling in someone else to cover for me."  
  
Slingerland laughed. "Good, you shouldn't be on your feet that long." Her brushed a lock of her back and kissed her cheek. "Now, finish your lunch. I'll come pick you up this evening and we'll spend the night going over nursery plans. I'm sure they have plenty of good books on the subject in the gift shop."  
  
"Getting ahead of yourself there, Brit," she reprimanded as she sat down against, picking up her spoon for ice cream. "I haven't agreed to anything yet."  
  
"Right you are," he replied cheerfully, more optimistic than ever about the future.   
  
Jules groaned and shook her head as she scooped up ice cream with resignation. "I'm doomed."  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
"Pardon me," George ask of the little man at the front desk as he automatically flash the passing nurse a smile that made her day. "Would you tell me where Dr. Slingerland is?"  
  
"He's with a patient right now," Norman answered with a little annoyance since the heavy accented man in front of him seemed to be paying more attention to the nursing staff than to the person he was asking of the question. "Take a seat and I'll tell him you're here."  
  
"Name's George," more to a passing blonde with eyes a little too much like Alice's to suit him... but she's got the most beautiful pair of legs under the nurse's uniform, or so his imagination told him. "Tell him I'm waiting."  
  
"Sure," Norman muttered as he took up charts and headed for the curtained off area. He really did not like arrogant bastards that expect the world to cater to their whim.  
  
George wondered over the wall, looking over the posted bulletins and announcements that were tacked up for easy access. There were plenty to read and even more to be amused over, but all he wanted to do was get his brother, go over some details and get back to his hotel room. The fact that Matt had unceremoniously kicked him out this morning, announcing that he wanted time with the mother-to-be, had put a rather damper on his mood.   
  
Speaking of which, he was surprised that his father hadn't called over that little piece of news since he left message of it at all the usual locations this morning. He sincerely hope Niles had gotten to the message in his parent's home before his mother did and told his mother in person. He can only guess what his sentimental mother was going to react to this. "And the muddle head had the nerve to call me an irresponsible idiot," he muttered to himself as he looked over nursing schedules that someone had put up.   
  
The cell phone on his belt chirped sweetly, causing several appreciative female eyes to turn toward him. Flashing them a smile that was more than repayment for thorough look-overs that he getting, he flipped the wonderful tri-band phone from his father. "Slingerland."  
  
"You Slingerland?" came a voice from just behind his left shoulder even as his mother's woe begotten greeting assaulted his ear.   
  
Turning, he was arrested by the rake thin tower of fury. Startled at being accosted by a stranger, "Yes, I'm Slingerland. May I help you?"  
  
The man nodded his strawberry blonde head. "Stay away from my sister," was the only other clue to the man's identity before the fist came at George with a speed that he simply could not avoid.   
  
Lying flat on his back as someone in the corridors screamed for security, the only coherent thought George had was that the spinning tweedy birds surrounding his head made thinking a little difficult.   
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Thoroughly enjoying writing this story. Went on a short vacation so don't expect anything to follow this chapter for a little while. 


	19. Chapter 19

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: Familial understandings don't always come easy.   
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 19  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
George rubbed his jaw slowly and tried to knock the spinning birds from his head. Glancing up warily at the rage clearly seen in the man's eyes, "Since you're not Alice's brother, I assume you're Kelly's."  
  
Eyes going wide, for a moment, the stranger stared slack jawed at him. "Alice? Kelly? You two-timing son of a bitch, I'm going to kill you."  
  
"SECURITY!!!" someone over his shoulder was still screaming. There were lots of scrambling of feet and scrapping of rubber shoes against polished floors as the man reached down to grab George by the shirtfront. It was definitely going to hurt like hell.   
  
"I cannot believe she trusted you!" the man spat in George's face then hauled back and deliver a blow.   
  
Matt Slingerland managed to catch the swinging arm and fist before it collided with his brother's nose. The last thing they needed was a bloody lawsuit from his own brother; rhinoplasty was not a cheap procedure. "What the bloody hell is going on?" then had to restrain the man as he came struggled out of Matt's hold once more. "Hey, hey, hey... none of that pub brawling now, and certainly not at a hospital." He grunted when an elbow knocked the wind out of him before a couple of the male nurses jumped into the fray.   
  
"Oh my bloody jaw," George groaned as he rolled to his side and watched three male nurses wrestle with the man. "Was that really necessary? For heaven sakes, we're both grown consenting adults."  
  
"Shut up George, you're making the situation worse," Matt said as he pulled his brother to his feet.   
  
The man suddenly stopped struggling, startling the three nurses that were amazed at how strong such a thin lanky man was. "Wait. Did you just call him George?"  
  
The two brothers turned to look at the man. Matt frowned, taking in the mahogany color hair, the green golden eyes and the lopsided smile that looked almost familiar. "Yes, considering that is his name."  
  
The man turned his head, the three nurses around him unsure what to do now that the man was no longer trying to break, and stared a little harder before asking George, "You're not Slingerland?"  
  
George frowned, unsure of what the hell was going on now. "Well yes, I am Slingerland. I believe we established that earlier, before you decided that you didn't particularly liked the color of my coat and took it out on my jaw."  
  
"But he just called you George."  
  
Matt got it first, his eyes widening then wincing with regret. "Were you by any chance looking for Dr. Matthew Slingerland?"  
  
The man frowned. "I thought that's who I found."  
  
George turned to look at Matt, staring hard. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?"  
  
Matt ignored his brother for the more pressing issue at hand. "And you sir? You would be..."  
  
"Josh Keating," eyes narrowing at the British accent and the similarities between the two men. "You're Dr. Slingerland, aren't you?"  
  
He braced himself for what he knew was coming. "That would be an affirmative."  
  
"Joshua James Keating, don't even think about it!" Dr. Jules Keating came down the hallway at something of a dead run, her eyes more than revealed her mood. If Rae hadn't spotted Josh when he came in and alerted her, she won't even have known her brother was in the same building, much less the same city, as she was. And the scene she came upon... it was like a bad nightmare. Only her brother could be that stupid.  
  
"For god sakes woman," Matt exploded, forgetting about the fact that she may have just saved him from a broken nose. "Stop running."  
  
"Shut up," she snapped back at him and came to a skidding halt, Dr. Slingerland's arms catching her before she slipped and fell. They must have just finished cleaning the floors again. She made a mental note to herself to get shoes with more traction. Nodding her thanks to him for his timely save, she turned her death ray eyes at her brothers. "What the hell are you doing here? And why in the world are you even here?"  
  
Josh shook his head at her, "Don't even turn this one around at me. What did you expect me to do after being on the phone with you for three hours? Just sit there and wait for another phone call? Hell no." He wiggled a finger at her. "For god sakes Jules, you didn't actually expect me to sit there while you went through something like this alone, did you?"  
  
"I'm not alone and for heaven sakes, Matt isn't the bad guy here. There is no bad guy in this little scenario." She made a point to ask Matt later what happened to his brother's jaw; it look like someone used it for a punching bag.   
  
"Yeah, right. You said that same thing about the little incident at Prom," Josh glared at Matt Slingerland, still a little tempted to throw a punch. The first one at the brother didn't really count now.   
  
"Prom?" Matt asked with much interest as he took a quick step away from the brother.  
  
"Wait," George rubbed his jaw. He glanced at each of the doctors then at the tall man. "You saying were looking for him and hit me instead?"  
  
"You hit him?" Jules asked at a screeched.   
  
"Barely a scratch," Josh waved it away. He and Jules use to get worse playing in the backyard. Rope burns from Cowboys and Indians came to mind right about now. "Besides, I thought he's the guy that got you knocked up."  
  
Jules groaned and buried her face in her hand. Matt tried valiantly to hide his smile as he reached out, pulling Jules into his arm. She came willing for a second before pulling away roughly and glared at her brother from between her fingers. "Thanks for announcing it to the rest of my co-workers."   
  
But Josh was not paying any attention to her. "Get your hands off my sister."   
  
"Shut up, Joshua," Jules shot back purposefully leaned back against Slingerland just to annoy her brother. She really hate it when her brothers get all protective on her, like she hasn't done a nice job of protecting herself so far.   
  
"Are you trying to get me killed, luv?" Matt leaned down and asked quietly to her alone. She smelled like baby powder and Vaseline, sweetly endearing. "Cause it would appear to me that were this a bad comedy show, your brother would currently be throwing steam out of his ears."  
  
"He's not going to touch you." She said confidently.  
  
"Don't bet on it, kiddo." Josh replied, eyes cutting into Matt like hot death rays. He didn't like the man on the spot, and not just out of principle. The British doctor looked just a little too smooth; especially with the standard white lab coat over what Josh would guess to be a fifty-dollar silk tie over a sixty-dollar dress shirt from Italy.   
  
Ignoring the audience that had gathered at an alarmingly fast rate, Jules glared at her brother and up herself in front of Slingerland. "You touch him and I swear I'll break your nose... again."   
  
"Jules!" Josh was fighting to keep his temper under a tight rein.  
  
"Did you just raise your voice at a pregnant woman?" Jules hissed as she took a step closer so as not to be over heard... by too many people.   
  
Startled by the sudden emergence of guilt among the red-hot fury that clouded his mind, Josh blinked for a moment. Glancing about, he resisted the urge to yell at the surrounding medical personnel that were more than attentive toward the little discussion... in the middle of the nurses' station. "Can we do this somewhere else?" he asked his little sister, keeping his voice as calm as possible.   
  
"Sure," no more eager for the audience than he was. "Matt, can I use your office?"  
  
Dr. Slingerland was eying Joshua Keating with critical eyes. Though the man appeared in control of his temper once more, Matt was not to keen on the idea of letting Jules deal with him alone. "Of course you may. Let us just step this way and..."  
  
"No, no," taking the lead down the hall; careful to stay between Matt and Josh. She wouldn't put it pass her brother to blind side Slingerland if even half the chance. "I think I should handle this one on my own."  
  
"But," he glanced at the heated glare from Josh and nearly winced. Pulling her slightly told him, he belt from his superior height toward her ear. "I don't like the idea of leaving you alone with him. He has, from all evidence, a rather volatile temperament."   
  
"He's my brother," she whispered back, half amused and half exasperated by the two's attitude. If she hadn't had three emergency cases that morning, which forced her to push back appointments, which meant she'll be here later than expected, she would find this display by the two men rather endearing. But at the moment, she was just annoyed by the fact that she was taking time off her day to deal with this. "He's not going to do anything but pace your office and try to remember that you don't upset pregnant women."   
  
"What is he saying to you?" Josh wanted to know as he leaned in to hear.  
  
"None of your business," pushing his face way with the palm of her hand on his cheek. Then with a grin, "Nosy."  
  
"I say, Matthew," George called as he trotted along with them. "Does this mean you and I aren't going to the lawyer's office together?"  
  
Eyes wide with disbelief, Matt was about to blast his brother when Jules took hold of his hand. "Go with him. Handle your familial problems while I handle mine. We'll reconvene tonight at your place. I'll order pizza."  
  
"Pasta," he corrected. "No more greasy foods for you, luv." He sighed and looked first at his brother's curious face, then at Josh's thunderous look before turning to Dr. Keating once more. "Why is it that I never seem to win arguments with you?"  
  
"Because I'm very vulnerable right now and that last thing you want to do is upset me," she answer sweetly, not even attempting to hide her amusement.  
  
He frowned at her, "Minx," before pushing opened the door to his office. Before she could enter, he stopped her. "I'll be back in an hour, I'll come see you then," then kissed her on the forehead. Turing to her brother, he returned the glare. "Don't yell at her again. You want to pick on someone, wait until I return." Then grabbed his brother's arm. "Let's go George. I want you on the next plane back across the ocean."   
  
"She's pretty," George commented as he lopped to keep up with his long legged younger brother. "Even in this awful light she looks good."   
  
"Shut up George," rolling his eyes when he realized that his suit jacket was still in his office. Glancing back just in time to see Josh slam the door to his office shut, he sighed. "Oh hell," he'll simply have to make do with his long coat. "Let's go before I change my mind."  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Well, that was real mature," Jules commented as she took a seat on the comfy little coach in Matt's office. Despite the fact that the room had been decorated with all the standard hospital furniture, it still had a taste of Slingerland in it. The earth tone pots with their over grown ferns were very... British. The oak book case held collection of literature that ranged from modern surgical techniques to the biography of Marilyn Monroe to Charles Dickens reflected Slingerland precisely. Heck, the woodsy smell that whiffed through the room reminded her of him.   
  
"How that pompous jackass thinks of me right now is not high on my priority list."   
  
"Why do you insist on making him the bad guy here?"  
  
"Cause between you, me and him, someone has to be. And I choose him."  
  
Rolling her eyes, "Well, as long as there's a reason."  
  
"Don't start Jules," getting to pace since the comfortable chair that Matt kept at his desk for his patients didn't feel so comfortable when Josh felt as if someone was pelting him with little needles. "Does he know about.... Never mind, he obviously knows."  
  
"Kind of hard to miss when you just yelled in the hallway." She glanced at her watch. She had about another five minutes to go before her entire schedule was shot to hell. "Look Josh..."  
  
"Have you talked?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Have you guys talked? Have you discussed anything yet? Has he hinted at whether or not he's going to be here for the kid? Or is he looking to turn the whole shebang on you?"  
  
Blinking, Jules frowned. "Well, he's made noises about moving in together."  
  
That had Josh raising a brow. "From the guy that don't want marriage?"  
  
"Yes, from the guy that said he didn't want marriage." Jules made a face. "He said move in. He didn't get on his knees and begged for my hand in marriage because of the baby. By the way, if he did for that particular reason, I'd have to turn him down flat and smash that brilliant mind of his with a really big baseball bat."  
  
"Well I should hope so. That's a terrible reason to get married." Josh stopped pacing and stopped directly in front of his little sister. He remembered her as a skinny kid; all elbows and knees, awkward and gangly with a sweet freckled face and a smile that made you think of family picnics at the lake on hot summer's days. "Jules, what are you going to do?"  
  
Because he looked troubled, torn between his love for her and his discomfort of having to hate Slingerland, she softened. "What do you want me to do?"  
  
"I want you to move to Seattle. There are plenty of hospitals there that would no doubt love a pediatric specialist like you on their staff. I want you to let me beat the shit out of that bad foreign import of yours and make him sign away his rights to this niece or nephew of mine you're carrying. But most importantly, I want to see you happy."  
  
She smiled, feeling the storm that had brought him down here pass. "I'm happy here. And Matt's not a bad import. He's one of the good ones, like the Beatles and German Forest Cakes." She sighed and held out her hands to him, which he readily took into his. "I want you to stop worrying about me and the baby. Matt's made it perfectly clear that he is *not* going to be left out of the loop where his child is concerned. He isn't going to repeat his dad's prime example of what not to do when parenting." She squeezed his hand. "Contrary to popular belief about men, not all of them run when confronted with the expected in a relationship. Plus..." she sighed. "He's a good guy, Josh, I really like him. I really enjoy being with him, listening to him, spending nights in his arms."  
  
"Okay, too much details there, kiddo." He winced with a shake of his head. He knew defeat when it came barreling toward him with a pair of soft doe eyes. "You love him?"  
  
She paused, searching herself. "Never having been in love, I don't know. I know that... I know that I'm happy when I'm with him. He makes me feel safe, comfortable, no pretenses necessary." She smiled, remembering the occasional free days they get. "He likes old movies and hot coffee in bed on Sunday mornings. He has your appreciation for the finer things in life, like massive entertainment systems and real ice cream with thick cream. It genuinely matters to him what he does here, the difference he makes in the lives of those that come to him. And most importantly, he cares about me; he wants to be part of my life."   
  
The glow in her eyes, the blush on her cheeks, Josh knew it was a lost cause. "I'm still going to hate his guts cause he got you pregnant and still didn't propose."  
  
"I wouldn't have excepted under the circumstances."  
  
"I know but he still should have at least tried."  
  
"That logic only works cause you're my brother."  
  
"Which is why I'm using it," he kissed her forehead and sighed. "You taking care of yourself?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Prenatal vitamins and all that junk?"  
  
"I'm a doctor, remember?"  
  
"Yes but..."  
  
"Yes, yes, I'm taking all the necessary precautions to ensure a healthy and safe pregnancy. Sheesh, you're as bad as Matt."  
  
"Only cause we care." He shook his head. "I cannot believe I just said I had something in common with the guy."  
  
Jules laughed softly and glanced at her watch again. "Get use to it, Josh. I've got to get back to work. You going to be around?"  
  
"I think I'll stay a little longer."  
  
"You're not going to stay to harass Matt, right? Cause he's a really busy guy and I don't want to have to..."  
  
"Relax, I'm not going to go anywhere near Romeo." He rolled his eyes and glanced at his watch. "I'm going to stay to fend off the rest of the brood if they decide to descend upon you like I did."  
  
"Excuse me?" her eyes narrowing shiftly. "Just whom did you talk to after we got off the phone?"  
  
"Not Mom or Dad, if that's what you're worried about."  
  
"But who did you...."  
  
"Just the guys."  
  
"Guys?"  
  
"Yeah, the guys."  
  
"As in our brothers?"  
  
"Yeah, our brothers."  
  
"Both of them?"  
  
"Yes, there were just as concerned."  
  
Jules groaned. "I knew you were a big mouth."  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Why don't I stay a little longer and have dinner with your gal," George suggested as they left Phillip Morrison's office. The meeting had gone well and George was feeling buoyant over the prospects of leaving Alice with as little as possible. In his mind, she broke the spoken contract between them at marriage when she requested children. "We're practically family now, what with her having your kid and all, we should get to know each other."  
  
"I don't want you within ten miles of Jules," Matt muttered darkly as he hurried along the crowded streets. "I want you on a plane and out of my business by evening."  
  
"Is that any way to talk to your brother?" George replied cheerfully, stopping Matt to buy a hotdog from a street vender. "You know, there is something very addictive about these American snack foods."  
  
"That stuff will kills you," purchasing a hot pretzel instead. He really wasn't hungry, especially after the full meal with Jules earlier, but it made him feel better to be doing something other than listening to his brother talk. "You have any idea what they put in those stuff?"  
  
"If I listen to everything you doctors tell me, I'd be leading an incredibly dull life." George bit into the juicy hotdog and gave a groan of appreciation. "You just don't get stuff like this in London."   
  
"Which is why we have less heart conditions than Americans do," Matt pointed out with a sigh. He wondered for a moment if Jules had already ordered dinner for the evening. Perhaps he could talk her into going to a restaurant instead; it's been a while since they went out to a sit down dinner.   
  
"I always thought it was our wonderful after dinner drinks."  
  
"That too," Matt replied absentmindedly as he watched a couple of teenagers cross the street at a dead run. He almost winced as one dripped on a crack in the middle of the street and crashed to the ground, chin first. "Oh bother," he muttered because walking forward.   
  
"What are you doing?" George asked, frowning as his eyes followed Matt's gaze. "Oh no, please tell me you're not going to...."   
  
"He could be seriously injured," Matt replied, swallowing the last of the pretzel and wiping his fingers on his coat with some regret. "Just a quick look."  
  
"Your last quick looked turned into a disaster," George reminded him in a hurry as they got closer to the crowd that gathered around the fallen boy. "We spent six hours in the emergency room with that woman. And she turned out to be married."  
  
"What is your point? Cause it quite escapes me how it relates," Matt's superior height allowed him to see that blood was already made an appearance. "Oh god," the blood was pouring down the panicking teen's mouth, one of his friends was already screaming frantically into a cell phone. "I think he bit his tongue."  
  
"That's not so bad," George replied, looking over the heads of the crowd.   
  
"It is if he bit it off," Matt replied, his brows knitted. "Excuse me," tapping the guy in front of him. "May I get through? I'm a doctor."   
  
The word was quick to spread among the crowd that there was a medical personnel at hand. George groaned as the sea of people parted. Gentle murmurs of sympathy and useless suggestions filtered through as well as Matt bent to take a look.  
  
"My name is Dr. Slingerland, I'm going to take quick look at the damage, all right?" the boy, with his hand clamped over his mouth, looking frightened and near hysterical, nodded his head. "There's a lad. Just open up for me," firmly pulling the boy's hand away from the bleeding mess that was his mouth. It was almost as bad as he had dreaded. "Has an ambulance been called?" he asked the boy with the cell phone.  
  
The ashen faced teen nodded his head. "They said that..."  
  
"It's okay," keeping his tone soothing and relaxed. There was enough panic, not need to add to any more. "What's your friend's name?" nodding toward the injured teen. The boy started to talk but Matt shook his head, "Don't talk, keep your mouth shut and spit out the blood, don't swallow if you can help it." He did not want the boy choking on his own blood. "Now," looking up at the boy with the cell phone. "What's your friend's name?"  
  
"Jeremy," came the trembling reply.   
  
"And you?"  
  
"David."  
  
"Okay," Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. "Jeremy, I need you to open your mouth and hold this against your tongue. I need you to put pressure on it but not to squeeze." He reached over and took David's cell phone. "Punching in the number, he place the receiver on his ear. "This is Slingerland. I need an emergency team on standby with a suture kit. Prepare 2 units of O negs just in case. Page the attending surgeon; we're going to use him for the sutures. I've got a teen, fourteen or fifteen at most, with a lacerated tongue. We're looking at a major artery damage with..." He looked up, the ambulance was flashing in the distance. "I've got transportation on the way, I'll have them bring us to Presidio. ETA: twenty minutes." He snapped the phone closed when he got the confirmation that his instructions were understood.   
  
"Jeremy, I need you stay calm while I talk to the EMT, can you do that?" Matt's eyes were steady as he helped the boy to his feet, careful to scan and check for any damages that may have been overlook before.   
  
The boy nodded his head; trusting eyes stared back at Slingerland.  
  
"David," snagging the young teen as he fumbled to put his phone away trembling hands tangled with latches and buckles. "Your friend isn't going to be able to provide much in the way of information. Can you stick around and help answer any questions that you maybe able to answer?"  
  
"Yeah," his head bobbed hard.  
  
"Good," he motion for George and leaned over. "Do me a favor?"  
  
"What?" he asked warily. Matt's favor's usually meant having to hold bloody limbs that would cost him a whopping bill at the dry cleaners. Blood was decisively difficult to get out on suits. "Come back to the hospital with me and while I take care of this, go tell Jules that I'm going to be late for dinner."   
  
George frowned, a little taken aback. "You're asking me to play messenger boy?"  
  
Reaching out Matt grabbed his brother by the shirtfront and hissed dangerously. "I'm in the middle of something important right now, you really ought not piss me off. So unless you want a matching bruise to the one that Jules's brother gave you, you'll do as you're told." He let go with a jerk just as the EMT's rushed forward.  
  
"Fine, fine," George muttered irritably then cheered considerably at the prospects of a little time with his brother's new friend.   
  
TBC...  
~~~~~~~~~~  
Like I said, life of it's own. 


	20. Chapter 20

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: Oh the joys of a brother's love.   
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 20  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
"There's a betting pool going around when Slingerland and Keating are going to tie the knot!" Janice giggled as she wrote down the patient's weight and blood pressure on the chart in from of her after having spilled coffee on the one she had created before the unfortunately accident.   
  
Marian laughed. "Two weeks. Slingerland won't want to wait much longer if he knows what's best for him."  
  
"Did Dr. Keating's brother really knock out Dr. Slingerland's brother thinking it was him?"   
  
"Not only that," Kelly interjected as she sat down her heavy load on the countertop. "Keating's brother took a swing at Slingerland after they sorted out the mistake. Nearly took Slingerland's tooth out."  
  
"I heard that he threatened to kill the man if Slingerland ever went within a hundred feet of Dr. Keating." Shelley added as she glanced at the ladies.   
  
"No way!" Marian's jaw hit the floor.  
  
Shelley nodded. "Did you know that she has two more brothers?"  
  
"They'll kill Dr. Slingerland for sure," Janice murmured quietly.   
  
"Did you see them together during lunch?" Christy joined them after eavesdropping for a good number of minutes. "They held hands and talked until they had to go to work. If you ask me, Slingerland is one lucky bastard and he well knows it."   
  
"You think he'll marry her?" Janice asked.  
  
Shelley shook her head. "He's been known to publicly announce his intensions never to get married. Don't get me wrong, the right woman might be able to get him to the alter. But look at his track record with women, I doubt even Dr. Keating is going to accomplish that feat."  
  
"But she's pregnant," Marian pointed out. "Doesn't that count for something?"  
  
"Only that he's got a connection to her that isn't going away." Shelley replied sadly. She liked Dr. Keating very much.   
  
"He'll do right by the baby and her." Christy pronounced without any doubt. "All you have to do is look at the way he looks at her."  
  
The others exchanged looks of doubts, but before anyone of them can make any kind of pronouncement, the emergency doors opened to revealed three rushed teens ahead of two EMT's and a sober Dr. Slingerland calling out orders as he followed the gurney into the trauma room. Dr. Slingerland's brother came in at a much more leisurely pace and smiled at the four nurses who were all staring at the bruise that was already beginning to show on his jaw.   
  
"Good evening, Ladies. Could one of you direct to Dr.... ugh.... Doctor.... hum..." he frowned, trying to remember the gal's last name.   
  
"Dr. Keating?" Christy offered quietly.  
  
"Yes, Dr. Keating," snapping his finger with a smile. "Could you point me toward her office?"  
  
Christy eyed the man with interest. There was something about the way he smiled that made Christy wary. "Fourth floor, pediatrics. Just ask any of the nurses up there where she is and they'd be able to tell you."  
  
"Thank you, luv," then strolled off.  
  
"Wow," Marian sighed. "I could listen to him walk all day."  
  
"Can't get enough of that British thing," Janice agreed with a smile.  
  
"I don't trust him," Christy announced with a frown as she continued to watch the retreating back. "Something about him makes my skin crawl."  
  
"Good kind of crawling or bad kind of crawling?" Shelley asked, her own caution signs at full alert. There was something too smooth about the man. "Cause I'm getting that kind crawling that says that I need to cross the street and protect my youngs that kind of crawling."  
  
"Good instinct," Christy shook her head. "He's bad news."  
  
"You guys sure?" Janice asked, her eyes watching the two older women. "He seemed nice enough to me."  
  
"Looks can be deceiving," Shelley said as she picked up her charts. "I've got patients."  
  
"Me too," Christy replied. "I hope Dr. Keating watches her back cause I got a feeling that that brother of Dr. Slingerland's is going to be trouble."   
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
"Did I hear right?" Jackie asked as she startled the busy Dr. Brennan.  
  
"About what?" Rae asked, returning to her notes. She's got two too many patients today for gossip, which was undoubtedly what Dr. Colette wanted right now judging by her twinkling eyes.   
  
"That Jules's brother broke Slingerland's arm?" signing off a couple of orders before handing the stack of papers back to the waiting arms of a nurse. "I heard that they had to call security to get him off."  
  
"Wait, what?" Rae turned and stared at Dr. Colette in stunned disbelief. She had been swamped all day but she didn't think that she had been so preoccupied that something that earth-shaking happening would have gotten passed her.   
  
"Didn't you hear?" Jackie shook her head.  
  
"No Slingerland didn't get his arm broken," Letty responded as she left her charts with Norman. "He didn't get the least mussed by the whole affair. It's the brother that got the hard knock in the noggin."   
  
"Which brother?" Rae asked, confused as hell.  
  
"Slingerland only has one," Letty replied calmly.   
  
"What does Slingerland's brother have to do with this?" Jackie asked, her brows suddenly wrinkling in confusion.   
  
Letty stared at the two. "He was the one that was knocked unconscious today."   
  
Jackie's jaw practically hit the floor. "Slingerland hit his brother?"  
  
"What are you ladies up to?" Harriet asked as she slipped on her half mooned glasses to head the chart of her next patient. "And why aren't you working diligently to save lives instead?"  
  
Dr. Jordan frowned. "We seemed to be standing here with crossed wires."  
  
"About what?" frowning as she read the latest blood test on her new mother to be.   
  
"What happened this afternoon with Jules and Matt?" Rae clarified. If anyone knew the truth of what's going on, it was Doctor Mom. "Did you hear anything about some brother and someone getting..."  
  
Harriet sighed and picked up the charts. "Does this hospital have nothing better to do than to gossip about the private lives of our residents?"  
  
"Apparently not," Jackie answered honestly.  
  
Grinning helplessly, Harriet shook her head. "For your information, Joshua Keating arrived this afternoon and mistakenly knocked out George Slingerland thinking that 'Mr.' Slingerland was 'Dr.' Slingerland, whom Josh believes to have impinged upon his sister's honor. Security was called, but Dr. Keating managed to get the situation under control before extreme measures were called up."  
  
"Really?" wide-eyed and curious, Jackie leaned against the counter. "Did you hear anything about wedding bells?"  
  
Harriet frowned at her. "Only about the pool in the nurse's lounge."   
  
"There's a pool going?" Letty asked, with a little too much interest.  
  
"Ladies," Harriet warned. "This is your friend's life you're spreading gossip and betting on. Let's remember why we're really here, shall we?"  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Knock, knock."  
  
Dr. Keating's eyes lifted from the enormous amount of chicken scratch in front of her. God help her from other doctors that never got pass a D in handwriting during the fundamental elementary school years. She blinked for a moment, not recognizing the man at the door. "Hello?"  
  
"Hello, my dear," George felt no qualms about stepping into the brightly decorated room. If not for the books and enormous desk, he would have thought he stepped into an elaborate nursery. Flashing his infamous smile, that one was the cause and collapse of his four marriages, he took a seat in front of the desk and studied the woman in front of him.  
  
It surprised George to no end that Dr. Julia Keating was nothing of what he expected from Matthew. The Slingerland men, at least this generation, were known for their taste in the sophisticated blondes beauties. Heck, every one of George's ex-wives, and soon to be ex-wife, was a natural blonde. Every woman George has seen in Matt's arms has been a fair-haired angel. They were all statuesque, beautiful, charming...English roses.   
  
Dr. Keating with her sweet freckled face, her delicate stature, mahogany hair, was a yellow daisy in the spring and certainly didn't fit the image that George had of the kind of woman that would not only capture Matthew's attention but also hold it. Granted, there was something quite interesting about her animated face and those guileless eyes that would probably get more than a glance from most men, but the Slingerlands have long been accustom to their share of down right gorgeous women. So there had to be more to this than what meets the eyes.   
  
"How are you feeling, my dear?" George asked with a disarming smile that usually got what he wanted in and out of boardrooms. "Getting enough calcium?"  
  
Jules was automatically suspicious simply because the man was too good looking. It was like a law somewhere that extremely good-looking men aren't the nicest or kindest ones around. Granted, there are some exceptions... Matt Slingerland came to mind. The man was gorgeous, not doubt about that. Broad shoulders, narrow hips, a smile that made her want to eat him alive. Nick Kokoris was another... greatest bed hair she's ever seen, not to mention that hero's chin and devilishly charming goatee. Okay, so there are some exceptions to every rule but George Slingerland was not one of them. Just look at his track records....  
  
"I'm feeling quite fit. I had a high fiber lunch, with your brother, and a yogurt for a snack about fifteen minutes before you were knocked on your butt by my brother."  
  
The warning shot had been fired.   
  
George's face reflected none of his admiration for her spunk. Most women simply rolled over at him. It almost made him cheer with delight, if the ruddy woman wasn't carrying his brother's child that was. "It's good to see that you are keeping yourself healthy. Won't want anything to happen to mi niece or nevvy."   
  
Jules felt insulted but didn't let it show. "My kid is going to get the most advanced prenatal treatments possible. I suppose it's fortunate that I'm a neonatal specialists and that it is my body that will have to be watched as I am the primary caregiver to this child."  
  
"And what do you intend on doing about it?" George asked, all pretenses of niceties dropped since a no-nonsense woman was confronting him, which was good. While he did enjoy planning games, he did have his brother to think of.   
  
"Do about 'it'?" her brow raised slowly and she leaned back into the chair, letting the crazy gel pen one of her patients had given her fall to the desktop.   
  
"Yes," George asked, sitting back into a relaxed poise. "We're are both sensible adults here. Let us be candid about this."   
  
"Please do."  
  
"My brother is not a beggared man," George began, keeping his eyes steady on the young doctor's. "With healthy investments both through his own ingenious calculations and my father's long-term planning for his children, one can safely say that were Matthew to quit his mundane little job now, he would not without sufficient funds to live the rest of his days in luxury." Fingers steeped in front of him, he watched the light in Dr. Keating's eyes flickered slightly but was unable to tell what it meant. "As his elder and only brother, it is mine duty to look out for Matthew's best interests."  
  
Keating placed her elbows on the desktop and rested her chin on her linked hands. "Pray tell, in your infinite wisdom, what is it that you think is the best thing for your brother?"  
  
The cadence-less tone of her voice should have sent warning bells through George, but he was not use to dealing with women in such levels of intelligence. "I believe it would be in everyone's best interest should your path not cross with my brother's once more. I will not have him sucked into a loveless marriage and have his bank accounts pilfered simply because he is too much a gentleman to do the sensible thing." He lifted his hand to the inside of his jacket then let the hand slip away again. Something in the woman's eyes told him not to pull the checkbook out yet. "There are plenty of fine hospital across this lovely country of yours. Pick one and I shall endeavor to persuade them to open a position for you."  
  
"With your check book no doubt," Jules interjected sweetly, feeling the muscles of her jaw go painfully taunt. Oh the temptation to go for the man's throat was almost overwhelming now. She was just holding on by a thread... a fraying whisper thin thread.   
  
Unaware of the danger he was facing, George foolishly nodded his head and rested one ankle the opposite his knee. "We will of course make a generous settlement upon you once you've agreed to sign certain documents that would prohibit any ties to the Slingerland fortune to be made in the future."   
  
Jules's hand went to the coffee cup that was currently filled with mildly warm tea, a special blend that Kokoris had brought her that afternoon to calm her nerves. Pity it was going to go to waste. "Let me get this straight," she brought the cup closer to her, making a mild motion with her hand. "You want me to sign something that says that my baby is not to be acknowledged by your family and that he or she is not seek out yours. In return, you are going to give me a lump sum and a new position somewhere other than Presidio Med so that there is to be no..." she searched her brain for the right word. "No temptation on my part to sink my eager little claws back into Matt." The rigid smile scratched over her face as her fingers curled tightly around the mug. "Do I have it right, Mr. Slingerland?"  
  
The belated alarm bells began vibrating through George's mind just before lukewarm tea splashed onto his face and the mug collided with his already abused jaw.   
  
For being in a towering rage, Jules was surprised at just how calm she sounded. "Get. Out."  
  
Rubbing his jaw with his finger, George peeked at her through tea sodden lashes. "I came in here to make an offer and to relay a message. The offer stands, should you reconsider," standing and taking hasty steps toward the door as Dr. Keating rose from behind her desk, all her masked rage revealing itself. At that moment, George was sure she was ten times more dangerous than her ill-tempered brother. "As for the message, Matthew conveys his apologies that he will be able to meet you as planned tonight."  
  
Jules's knuckles were white against the desk's edge. "You've delivered the message, now GET OUT!!!" And threw her medical journal at him just as he slipped out the door.   
  
For a red-hot moment, she was going to give into the inclination to throw her chair out the fourth story window. Taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart, she cursed luridly before throwing herself into the chair once more. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry over this whole thing. Never in her life had she been accused of something so...so...so outrageous. To think, George Slingerland believed that she... that she would... even to consider... it was just too much, simply too much for her right now. The last thing she wanted to deal with was Slingerland and his family's wild accusations.   
  
Getting up, she ignored the full stack of charts that needed to be reviewed and picked up her coat and purse. Air was what she needed. Air and a big carton of ice cream.   
  
Anything to get her away from the one nagging thought that had crept through George Slingerland's ridiculous ideas. Did Matt have any hint or doubt? Would he believe his brother? Would he believe her?  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Wiping his hands on the towel, Matt sighed and rolled his neck. The weepy mother had been sent off with a much grateful father to the cafeteria until they can see their son again. The shaky best friend was sent home with his concerned working father. And he was too tired to think about doing anything other than get home and crawl into bed with Jules for a much-deserved rest.   
  
"Good catch, Slingerland," Nick Kokoris said as the surgeon tossing his surgical hat into the waste bin. The lines on the doctor's face was a sure indication of the long hours he had just pulled to help put the poor teen's tongue back together.   
  
"You too. I don't think I've ever seen such neat sutures on an artery," he replied with a grin.   
  
Nick gave a grateful laugh and leaned his shoulder against the locker. "He's going to be in speech therapy for a long time."  
  
"But at least he can still speak," Matt pointed out as he pulled his jacket from the locker. Every muscle across his back ached. "I don't suppose you know whether Keating is still around."  
  
Nick shook his head with sighed, wishing he could go home instead of make another round with his patients before leaving. "I would hope that she left hours ago. She shouldn't over do, especially given the precariously nature of her health."  
  
Head snapped back as Slingerland stared at the Greek doctor for a moment. "What do you know about it?"  
  
Frowning, Nick look back. "Only what I've heard around the hospital. Dr. Keating is facing a risky pregnancy." He studied Slingerland's face for a moment, "You didn't want the hospital to know?"  
  
"Not particularly," Matt muttered and wondered who had the big mouth and big ears. Knowing Jules, she won't have talked to anyone but her nearest and dearest. So... Well, another problem for another time. "I don't know," he sighed. "Maybe it's better than the rest of the staff knows. They might be able to convince her to take it easy for a couple of months, at least until the end of the first trimester."  
  
"I sincerely hope you didn't tell her that," Nick responded with a grin. It amused him to see his colleagues in such a state. Of course it may have something to do with the fact that misery loves company and his own dismal problem-filled love life. "Women hate to be told what to do."   
  
"Do I look suicidal to you?" Matt replied, looking for his hospital badge. "Jules would have my bloody head if I were to tell her what to do. Then she's start spouting off about women having babies for thousands of years and that she was a doctor and knows what's good for her... All the rot," he muttered irritably and not sure if he believed her or not.   
  
"As long as you know it," the surgeon replied and grabbed his lab coat. "Go home, be with your pregnant girlfriend and get some rest. You've more than earned it."  
  
Matt turned to look at Dr. Kokoris for a moment. It was the first time, out side of consultations and other work-related issues, that he and the resident surgeon had polite words of personal nature. It was odd yet... not bad. "Thank you. I would give you the same advise, minus the pregnant girlfriend part of it of course."  
  
"Thanks," neglecting to mention that he wouldn't mind being in that envious statement. Of course, Rae was infinitely more careful in their liaisons to find themselves in that state. "I'll see you tomorrow," and head toward the nurse's station where he was sure there were more charts there than he cared to imagine.  
  
"Nite," Matt replied cheerfully as he looked toward the pleasurable prospects of going home to Jules. It would nice to be able to convince her to move in quickly. He found, in the past few weeks, that he rather liked and anticipated going home whether with his girl or to his girl, when he had always dreaded going home to a lonely empty apartment. It had been a place where he slept and occasionally ate, but never a place where he looked forward to arriving at. Now... "Hum... this must be what people mean when they talk about domestic bless?"  
  
"Talking to yourself, brother?" George asked from the doorway, not sure if he was allowed in. "Not a healthy thing to do. Gives very little confidence to your patience when they suspect their physician is letting air in his attic."   
  
Turning, Matt had a very bad feeling as he stared at his brother's grinning face. "What are you still doing here? I would have thought you'd be on a plane halfway home by now."   
  
"Change of plans," George announced with a smile.   
  
Matt shook his head, "Met some sweet young thing did you?"  
  
George grinned. Dr. Keating was hardly what he called sweet. "I spoke with your gal earlier."  
  
"Good," Matt frowned as he searched his locker for his wallet. "So she knows that I'm going to be late for a legitimate reason?"  
  
Shrugging his shoulders as he watched his brother, "I told her you would not be meeting her as planned."  
  
Perhaps it was because of that way he avoided the question, or the way he was a little too causal, or maybe it was because Matt knew his brother too well, alarm bells suddenly went off loudly in his head. Slamming his locker door shut, Dr. Slingerland stood to his full height and pinned his older brother with deathly serious eyes. "What exactly did you and Jules talk about?"  
  
"Things," came the short and non-descript reply.  
  
"Things?" reaching out and grabbing his brother by the front of his shirt, Matt yanked him forward and took a moment to note that his brother smelled of... tea? "What things?"  
  
Not duly alarmed by his brother's temper, George shrugged. "Among other thing, your share of the family fortune."  
  
"You did what?!?" and before either one of them had realized it, Matt's fist had collided with George's jaw. And while George lay stunned, Matt's temper came to head. "Isn't bad enough that you manage to sabotage every decent relationship you've ever been lucky enough to encounter? Now you have to come interfere with mine? Who the bloody hell do you think you are?!?"  
  
While he wondered whether reconstructive surgery was going to be necessary to fix his much abused jaw, he replied, "I'm your brother and the executor to your estate. I would think you would be grateful that I'm looking out for your best interests."   
  
"Grateful?" the angry doctor got out through clinched teeth.   
  
Deciding that he should get to the real reason why he decided to stay another day before Matt took another swing at him, George sat up onto the nearby bench. "She's a good gal, you know. I like her."   
  
"WHAT?" confusion warring with anger.   
  
"I said I like her," George repeated as he straightened up. "She's got what none of the other women I've seen you with has, dignity and self respect. Real strong will and hell of a temper as well." He watched Matt's irritation ebb. "I offered her a good size fortune and a position in any hospital she choices to leave you and the family alone." He held up a hand to forestall the yelling he was sure was about to come out of Matt's mouth. "Let me finish."  
  
Because he's never seen his brother so serious, Dr. Slingerland reined himself in.   
  
"She didn't even dignify me with an answer. Threw her cup at me and told me to leave. Wait; let me rephrase that. Practically chased me out of her office." He smiled in the memory of and fingered his bruised jaw. "She's got one hell of a pitcher's arm."   
  
"Softball," Mat answered distractedly. "She threw a cup at you?"  
  
"Loaded with tea," George answered with a smile. "She's got spirit. Mother would approve."   
  
"Mum wants me married. She'd approve of Hitler's daughter."  
  
"True," George conceded. "Father would approve."  
  
Now that was saying something. "You think?"  
  
"I know." George said with a grin. "Listen, when you finally find her. Tell her that I said hello and that I hope there are no hard feelings between us, but I had to know whether you were making the biggest mistake of your life. Or you really are one hell of a lucky bastard."   
  
Matt almost smiled. "What do you mean when I finally find her? Isn't she in her office waiting for me?"  
  
"I won't know."  
  
Eyes narrowing, "You did tell her that I was going to be late, didn't you?" George's eyes shifted a little. "Didn't you?"  
  
Uncomfortable, " I told her that you weren't going to meet her as planned."  
  
"You cancelled my evening with her?"  
  
"I didn't exactly..."  
  
"Did you effectively cancel my evening with Jules?"  
  
"Well, I suppose given the conversation we were having...."  
  
"You're an idiot!" Matt said picking up his briefcase and storming toward the door. "You're a bloody, nosy, troublemaking idiot."  
  
Gorge stood there in the silent locker room for a full two minutes after Matt's back disappearance behind the swinging door before he let out the breath he had been holding. "Well, that went better than expected."   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
TBC... 


	21. Chapter 21

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: Brotherly love...it's like a good kick in the butt.   
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Author's Note: "Mr. Edison's Gift" was derived from an episode from "Growing Pains." I take no credit for the idea.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 21  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Glass of water in hand, Jeremiah Keating sat down in front of his kid sister and pressed the drink into her hand. Her usually pale face looked even more deathly tonight and her thin face appeared to have lost more of its fullness. Over all, she looked exactly as his wife did carrying their first child. "Okay, you want to tell me why you're here trying to convince me that you want to go come stay a weekend with me and mine when you just managed to convince Josh to convince me and Jeff not to beat the living daylights out of your boyfriend?"   
  
"Not that we wouldn't welcome a nice visit from you, Juli-kins," Jeffrey added with a sympathetic smile. "But you have to admit that this does seem particularly odd given your adamancy that this Dr. Singer-ma-bob is a good guy."  
  
"Slingerland," she corrected with an irritated look.   
  
"Whatever," Jeff said gruffly. "You want to tell us what happened between this afternoon and now to make you change your mind about him?"  
  
"Nothing," she responded with more insistence than she knew was wise. She was tired, that was it, just tired and she wanted some patience and quiet. Well... coming to her brothers wasn't such a good idea if that was what she really wanted. "I just thought that maybe a little time away would give me some perspective on things."  
  
"That's not what you said this morning," Josh responded, his brows knitted together with concern.   
  
"That was this morning's hormones and now this is this moment's hormone levels. So are any of you going to let me stay with you for a couple of days or am I going to have to go talk to mom?" she asked, knowing very well that she would rather go ice fishing then have to tell her mother the recent mess she's gotten herself into.   
  
"You know that you are more than welcome at any one of our homes, baby sis," Jerry responded with a quick nod to his brothers. "We're just trying to make sure you aren't flying off the handle and doing something foolish."  
  
"What happened, Jules? Did the bad import do something stupid?" Josh asked. Let Jerry pay the diplomat, he'll pay the protective lion.   
  
"Will you stop calling him that?" she snapped, her patience strained. Coming to see her brother was definitely not a good idea in retrospect. "He didn't do anything wrong and I" her pager vibrating violently in her purse cut her off.   
  
"Leave it," Jeffrey advised.  
  
"Can't," she replied fishing for the object. "You can ignore a call from your clients, but I can't just ignore my patients. Some of them require constant attention."  
  
"I told you to go into Real Estate," Jeff sighed and leaned against the table, watching for her to finish. "Not too late you know. Many women go into the business relatively...."  
  
"I've got to go," she said, dropping the pager into her purse and getting up. "I've got a NICU patient that needs me."  
  
"Jules," Jerry called as he rushed to intercept her at the door. Taking her hand, he hugged her tight for a moment, careful not to squeeze her hard. "Whatever happens with the man, you know that this family stands behind you one hundred and ten percent."  
  
"Thanks, Jerry," she pressed her lips against her brother's cheek. "Give the little ones a kiss for me." She turned and stared at her bachelor brothers. "And don't get into any trouble while you are here. I cannot explain to the hospital why my brother's decided to randomly attack people." She pointed at Josh, "And stay away from Slingerland and his brother."  
  
"Love you too, Little Jules," Jeffrey said as he followed her down the hall and to the elevator door. Kissing her on the cheek, he received her sisterly smile with indulgence and watched her until the doors closed on his face. Sighing, he returned to the hotel room the Keating brothers were occupying for the day and turned to the youngest of the male set. "So what was he like?"  
  
Staring out the window, mind on the woman that just left, "Couldn't begin to tell you," Josh replied, picking up the glass of water Jules had left behind and finishing it with a gulp. "She separated us too quickly." He frowned at the window, the peacefully gloomy weather outside completely ignored by the gloomy mood he was in. "By what I see, he definitely cares. Didn't like her running in the hallways."  
  
"She was running? In her condition?" Jeff asked, eyes wide in disbelief.  
  
"You know how Jules is," Josh answered with a shrug.   
  
"You think he'll do right by Jules?" Jerry asked, taking a seat and wondering if his wife would enjoy a little visit with his sister. They hadn't seen each other since Thanksgiving, and even that was a short and hectic affair, especially with their youngest sick to his stomach most of the weekend.   
  
"Who knows," Josh replied with a heartfelt sigh. "She doesn't think marriage is in the horizon given the examples his family has shown him. And she isn't going to push him into it, knowing what kind of resentment it might create."  
  
"Our dear sister really has herself in a pickle, hasn't she?" Jerry asked, hand going to his buzzing cell phone. Glancing at the caller ID, he decided to ignore it. "So what now? I'm not too keen on leaving while she's still so upset over... whatever it is she's upset about."  
  
Jerry stared at the ceiling and thanked the many gods above that he only had one sister. God knows what kind of murder and mayhem he would have gotten himself into if he had more to protect. "I think it's time we have a little chat with this Dr. Singleton."  
  
"Slingerland," Josh corrected automatically.   
  
"Whatever."  
  
Josh frowned at his eldest brother. "Get use to saying it right."  
  
"Why would I want to do that?" came the irritated reply.   
  
"Cause unless I've missed my guess, our baby sister is in love."   
  
Two groans greeted that assessment simultaneously.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Let's start him on antibiotics now that his weight is up a notch," Jules ordered as she scribbled it down on the medication chart and glanced at the three week old wonder that was fighting for every breath. "And let's up the heat in here, two degrees, I don't want there to be another infection."  
  
"Yes, doctor," Laura answered as she moved about a little and turned up the heat to the incubator by two degrees. She gave the young neonatal specialist covert glances and then sneaking more looks at the desk nurse.   
  
"What is it?" Jules asked, after spying another exchange of nervous glances by the attending nurses around her.   
  
"Nothing," Haley answered with a smile.  
  
"Don't give me that," she admonished with a look. "I know when I'm being talked about, or speculated about, behind my back. Out with it."  
  
Ingrid decided to be the brave one; she did have twenty years in the NICU under her belt and was less likely to catch hell. "We were given strict orders to make sure you don't stay in here pass ten o'clock." She glanced at the large clock on the wall and back at her. The long hand read fifty-five while the short was inching toward ten. "I think we're getting damn close."  
  
Shock, horrified, and outraged, Jules planted her fists on her hips. "Who gave the order?"  
  
"I did," Harriet Lenning replied as she came through the swinging door. "And it's about time you went home," dropping two charts with Ingrid and stopping just before the sputtering young doctor. "And don't look so indignant. If you weren't in those shoes, you'd agree with me."   
  
"Harriet!" Jules stared but stopped when the matron doctor pulled her out of NICU by the elbow and down the hallway. "Will you...."  
  
"You're health is not at its best," Harriet began with a frown at the stubborn lines on Jules's forehead. "And given your diagnosis, and being a doctor yourself, I think you would agree that a light schedule and a stress free environment would be the best medicine prescribed for a mother to be with a compromised health situation."   
  
"I'm perfectly..."  
  
"Capable of ignoring my advise and doing yourself serious harm," Dr. Lenning finished as she pushed Dr. Keating's office door open. "Need I remind of you of the fainting episode you just went through not too long ago?"  
  
Jules groaned. "You would have to remember that, won't you?"  
  
Harriet stared at the dark stain on the ground. "What happened to your carpet?"  
  
"What?" glancing down. "Oh that, it's just tea."  
  
"You spilled tea in here?" Ever graceful, even under stress, Harriet had serious doubts.   
  
"No," Jules admitted with a sigh. "It's a long story."  
  
"Which need not be told right now," Harriet replied throwing jacket and purse at the younger doctor. "Go home. Sleep. Rest. Come back tomorrow morning and save lives. In the mean time, let's keep that life within you as healthy as possible, shall we?"   
  
"You don't pull any punches do you?"  
  
"If you were less stubborn..." she slanted her a smile and walked her out. "I would have thought you'd be with Slingerland tonight?"  
  
"That was the plan but he cancelled on me at the last minute."   
  
"Hum..." came the non-reply.  
  
"What?" curious.   
  
"I would have though you'd be meeting up after the surgery."   
  
Now thoroughly confused, "What surgery?"  
  
"The tongue laceration." Nothing cleared on Jules's freckled face. "He brought in a fourteen year old with an artery dissection on the tongue. Apparently he was at the scene when the kid had an accident. Went into surgery with Kokoris before the kid hemorrhaged."   
  
"When?"  
  
"Just before six."  
  
The amount of shame she felt was... "Was his brother..."  
  
"Came in and went looking for you."  
  
Her anger mounted even as her guilt took a nice chunk out of her heart. "Can't meet me as planned," she remembered with irritation. George and his stupid... "I'm going to kill him."  
  
"Who?" Harriet asked quietly.  
  
"He is a dead man," she pronounced before storming off in a huff leaving Harriet Lenning in the hallways staring after her for a moment before the OB went to her office.   
  
Harriet smiled to herself as she pulled the charts for the evening and was glad that she was happily married and not quite so impulsive and young any more.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Matt was out of his seat and lunging for the door the minute he heard it rattle. He had been not so patiently waiting in her apartment after making a quite run to his own in the vain hope that she would be here. The spare keys Dr. Keating had kept in "Mr. Edison's Gift" had come in handy tonight. "Jules?!?"  
  
"Sorry, wrong Keating," Josh announced cheerfully as Jeffrey returned the spare keys to Jules's apartment to their hiding place within the enormous wall-lamp by the door.   
  
Normally the sight of the three Keating brothers filing in and taking a good long survey of the British doctor would have raised all sorts of alarm bells in Slingerland's head, but at the moment, he was much too distracted by the fact that Jules Keating was not there. "Where is she?" he asked unceremoniously.   
  
Josh decided to play the tormentor. "Oh? Isn't she here?"  
  
For a moment, Matt wondered if punching a guy into a bloody pulp would constitute violating the doctor's Hippocratic oath to do no harm. "I'm not in the best frame of mind at the moment and had you catch me at any other time, I would be more than happy and willing to go round and round with you on these useless, pointless bantering. But as I am not in such a mood to play games, would you kindly inform me where your sister is."   
  
Josh tilted his head and asked mockingly, "Now why would I want to..."  
  
Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, Matt dropped all pretenses of civility. "TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!!!"  
  
Jerry and Jeff both grabbed an arm and managed to pry the angry doctor off their brother before physical damage can occur. Wrestling the taller man to the coach, Jerry felt a wave of sympathy to the near overwhelming panic he could see in the man's eyes. "Easy there. Josh was just having some fun at your expense. And given that you got our sister pregnant, you cannot exactly expect any of us to welcome you with open arms. But if you must know, Jules was called back to the hospital on a patient."   
  
That very fact that he now knew where she was calmed Matt down considerably. Shaking off the elder brothers off, he glared at Josh who stood there smirking at him with amusement. "That was hardly nice."  
  
"Who says I have to be nice to you?" Josh replied as he went to the kitchen to search out food. He was hungry. "Trust me when I say that I'm the least of your worries with Jeff here."  
  
With that, Jeffrey tapped Slingerland on the shoulder with enough force to topple the doctor into the nearest armchair. "Have a seat, we've got to talk."  
  
Seeing that there was not much choice in the matter, Matt crossed his arms and sat back as comfortably as he could. "Let the interrogation begin."  
  
Jerry smiled, glad that the lot of them didn't easily cow the man. "Listen, we're not trying to be difficult..."  
  
"Don't listen to him," Josh called from the kitchen where he could only find Ritz crackers and peanut butter. "We plan on being plenty difficult, or at least I am." He grinned before opening the frig in hopes of something more. "What the heck did you say to her anyways? She was your complete champion this morning and now she wants to come home with one of us for a few days."  
  
"I didn't say a bloody thing to the infuriating woman," Slingerland raged, having his emotions yanked around is hardly the most pleasant way to live. "And what do you mean she wants to come home with one of you..." He's eyes narrowed darkly. "She wanted to leave town for a few days?"  
  
"Said something about clearing her head," Jeff added, watching Slingerland critically. The tall, lean, handsome man was not what he had expected. He was too cultured, too smooth and too... cool for what he had pictured his baby sister's boyfriend would be. In her youth, Jules had always navigated toward smart, shy, funny, sometimes geeky boys that could never pull off silk without looking like a pansy. "You're not exactly her type."  
  
"What the hell does that mean?" Matt asked with a scowl.  
  
"Exactly what I said," Jeff replied with smile. "You are hardly the imagine she's always had of the man of her dreams. And the doctor part, that is unexpected. She once vowed never to marry one of her kind."  
  
Jerry sighed and leaned back in his seat. "Jules always said that her ideal dream mate would be a nice accountant with a love of music and babies. He's have blond hair and green eyes and wouldn't mind the occasional dinner and charity events that the doctors all have to attend. And more importantly, he wouldn't have crazy office hours the way she does, he'd be around for the kids cause she may not be."   
  
Josh nodded his head and dropped himself into the seat next to Jeff. "You," pointing with a hand that had a M&M bag, "Are hardly what she wanted, especially given your schedule looks to be as insane as hers."  
  
Slingerland digested without a hint emotion on his face. "Are you done tell me just how much Jules is not going to like being with me?"  
  
"Not by a long shot, bucko," Josh replied with grin. "But why don't you tell us what happened this evening before we go on?"  
  
"Nothing happened!" Slingerland replied with more frustration than anything. Getting up, he started to pace the length of the room with five long legged steps. "We were doing just fine until all of you showed up out of no where decided it would be fine and dandy to see how much trouble you all can cause. George and his bloody insinuations. You and damn right fist. Every interfering know-it-all member of the clans seems to find it necessary to stick their bloody noses where it doesn't belong." He ran long fingers through his dark hair. "We were damn happy, even with the unexpected twist in the maternity section of the relationship. I was this close to talking her into moving in with me. This bloody close."   
  
Matt ignored the widening of eyes from the brothers as he continued to vent. "Had it all worked out too. The spare room would be the baby's room, we'll have it repainted, redone in any way she liked... well, as soon as we find out whether it's going to be a boy or girl. Though I suppose we can always go with pastel yellows and green so that it would work either way. I was going to buy teddy bears, as many as I can bloody well find in the city and online for the baby; even more than the bloody museum she's already got. I was going to have the antique crib shipped from England; Mum would no doubt have it around somewhere, she usually tries to give it to George at every one of his numerous weddings. And if Jules wanted, I was going to buy a blood house for her. Something bigger so that there would be room, not that my townhouse now isn't a nice place. But if she wanted something different; I was going to get it. I had the whole damn plan worked out. Then you all showed up!" He glanced at the door with a angry glare. "WHERE THE BLOODY HELL IS SHE?"  
  
"Probably still at the hospital," Jeff replied glancing at Jerry with resigned look. There was an obvious attachment there already, even if Jules hadn't realized it yet. And man was already head over heels and he didn't even know it. "So what are you going to do now?"  
  
Glancing back at him, startled as if he just remembered the three men were there, Matt sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know much anymore. I do not, however, plan on allow you three or my brother to influence or interfere with what Jules and I will plan. In the mean time, I'm going to go look for Jules." With that, he reached over and picked up his jacket, more than intent on going to the hospital and making Jules listen to... to... whatever he can say or do to make this right. He silently cursed his brother for his stupid interfering ways.  
  
"Don't be foolish," Jerry said as he got to up to stop the man. "For all you know, she's on her way here now. It does no good to run about in the middle of the night."  
  
Matt wasn't paying much attention as he grabbed his keys from the counter, where he had deposited it earlier. He held it out of reach as Jerry tried to make a grab for it. "I don't care. I'll go bloody mad if I continue to sit here and no nothing with the three of you trying to stare me down. And for your information, anything you plan on doing will not have the least bit of consequence upon my relationship with Jules. I plan on being around for her and her... our child." And headed for the door with Jerry still trying vainly to take away his keys.   
  
Jeffrey almost smirked as he asked the one question that would solve everything. "Do you love her?"  
  
"Of course I love the infuriating woman, why else would I put up with the chaos she creates in my orderly life," he replied hotly before realizing what he's just said. When the words sank in, so did he into the nearest chair. "Oh blimey."   
  
"Hadn't hit you yet, did it?" Jerry asked with only half sympathy as he took the keys from Slingerland's limp hand. The good doctor had gone pale with shock. His flame of indignation had been snuffed within a blink of an eye. If it weren't so ironic, it'd be funny; those in love are usually the last to see it.   
  
"No," he replied soberly and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Taking a shaky breath, he ran a hand over his face. He felt sick to his stomach and just a little dizzy. "How the hell did this happen?"  
  
"Snuck up on you, didn't she?" Josh laughed feeling surprising relaxed. As much as he hated to admit it, he kind of liked this guy. Granted, Slingerland wasn't what he had wanted for his baby sister, but by all indications, the doctor appeared to be as devoted to her as Josh would ever wish for her. "Yeah, our Jules does that to a man. Grows upon you until one day, you cannot imagine a life without her exasperating ways."   
  
"The question now is," Jeff said, always the practical one, "What are you going to do about it?"  
  
Slingerland sat there, head in his hands trying to put some semblance of order to his scattered head. "I don't know." The lump in his throat was not going away, and added to that was the strange tightening around his heart. And his breath was having a difficult time catching up with one another the other. Panic was sure to follow, he was almost positive of that. He was displaying all the physical symptoms of an anxiety attack. And even being a doctor didn't help to relieve him of the problem. Mentally, he knew what to do. But he couldn't quite piece together enough thought to do something about it.   
  
"You all right?" Jerry asked, as Slingerland lowered his head between his knees.   
  
"Define all right?" he replied with a muffle as he took deep breath to keep the nasty cafeteria sandwich he had snacked on earlier down. "Oh lord, this is not what I had planned on."  
  
"What exactly did you plan?" Josh asked, feeling sorry for the fellow and getting up to get him a glass of water.   
  
"I... I don't know. But this definitely was not it." Swallowing hard to keep the raising tide of fear down. "Thank you," taking the offered water and gulping it down.   
  
Jeffrey got up and walked over, studying the slumped shoulders for a moment. Quietly, he offered what he could hope to be sound advice. "Jules hasn't made it a secret that she wants kids, some two or three. And in this day and age, being a single parent isn't the end of the world. She's got family, lots of them that are willing to help out if and when she needs it as a single parent. I won't say that I had hoped that she would wait until after marriage to start a family, but I can certainly understand her need to have some now given the recent circumstances of her health."  
  
Matt blinked at him. "You're making it sound as if you're cutting me out of the picture. Need I remind you that this is my child too?"  
  
"Yes, we know that."  
  
"Boy do we know it," Josh added with the roll of his eyes then received a sharp elbow to his ribs from Jerry.   
  
"And we're not trying to cut you out," Jeff explained with gravity. "But you have to understand something. We love our sister. We adore her. There isn't anything in this world we won't do for her. And that means that we want what's best for her. If you love her and know that you won't be there for her, be it marriage or child support, than you need to leave her. Don't give her false hopes. For as strong and as independent as Jules is, she's a romantic at heart and can easily be crushed. I don't want to see my sister cry."   
  
Matt sat there in silence. He was unsure of what to do next. He didn't doubt that he loved her... but then again George claimed to love all his wives at one point or other. Love he can do... but fidelity?   
  
On the other hand, he's never been in love before. Never felt this kind of bottom dropping sensation that scare him deaf, dumb and numb. How does anyone handle this kind of petrifying fear that one false move and you could lose...everything. He knew the difference between love and lust... right? And while he certainly enjoyed going to bed with Jules, there was so much more than just simple physical pleasure.   
  
He craved the moments, those quiet moments with her, when he simply had his arms around her sitting on the floor of his living room chitchatting while Tracy and Hepburn talk circles around each other on the television screen. Watching her face lit up with delight across the breakfast table over some new brew he managed to find at the various coffee shops that were scattered throughout San Francisco all the while bantering over who had the bigger obsession for coffee. Hearing her giggling delight over the ridiculously fragrant roses that still sat by his bedside where she could wake up to them and smile with sweet pleasure. Sharing left over Chinese or Italian food from cartons after leaving the hospital in their usual preposterously late hours and discussing the latest gossip or news in their profession. Wrestling her for the remote to the TV while arguing over the benefits of watching CNN over C-Span. Holding her hand while she cooed over sweet smelling babies in the park on warm sunny Sunday afternoons. Kissing her tears away when she's fought the good fight for a precious new life and still lost.   
  
Smiling almost wistfully, "I'm not going anywhere."  
  
The others exchanged knowing smile and nodded their agreement. Jerry was just about to welcome him into the clan when the front door opened jarringly and Jules toppled in. She managed to catch herself with the doorknob. "Holy sh..." the curse was lost at her eyes went wide at the sight of all the men in her life cramped into her little living room space. "What the hell is going on?"  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
TBC... 


	22. Chapter 22

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: Time to clear the air and express one's self.   
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Author's Note: Okay, I hadn't realized that I was writing the ending to this story until I was pretty much done. I hope you all enjoyed the story as much I've enjoyed writing it.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Chapter 22  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
"Someone want to explain?" Jules tossed her keys onto the counter and began to shrug off her coat slowly, eyes going from one face to the next studying them with her doctor's eyes. They looked alternatively triumphant, guilty, smug and... ill to the point of turning green. "Matt, you all right?" concerned etched deeply on her face. "What did you guys do to him?"  
  
Jeffrey, Jeremiah and Joshua sputtered for a moment before beginning to protest, loudly, of their innocence and their sister's bad judgment of the situation. To which Jules argued just as vocally as she moved to check Matt for any physical injuries she could horde over her brothers' collective heads.   
  
Matt's eyes studied her adorable face, memorizing each inch of it down to the last freckle the decorated her cute little upturn nose. She smelled of baby powder, sterilized hospital gowns and lavender lotion. Her bluntly cut nails were painted a soft shade of coral pink that highlighted each narrow finger as her hand ran over his shoulders, arm and ribs to make sure no bones were broken. The read highlights in her brown hair shown in the light and she looked... perfect. Radiantly beautiful.   
  
"And exactly what in the world are you even doing... How did you guys even get in?" She asked, her voice coming rather shrilled in her agitation.   
  
"Relax Jules," Matt murmured softly, taking hold o her hands. "You're agitation will upset the fetus. Let's not forget the risk factors here."   
  
She stared at him, a little bemused by the fact that he looked... calm. Eerily so.   
  
"Gentlemen," standing up and turned to set Jules into his vacated seat before turning to her brothers, who had grown quiet when Jules did so. "Thank you for the unsolicited advise and comments, but it's time you took your leave." He pointed one finger. "There's the door, use it."   
  
If the brothers were the least bit surprised or offended, they didn't show it. Well, except Josh who protested but was quickly hushed up by his brothers. They departed with a quick kiss for their sister and a meaningful look for Slinglerland.   
  
"We'll be seeing you at Christmas," Jeffrey said to Jules though his eyes included Matt who nodded his head imperceptibly.   
  
"I hope it's a girl," Jerry added with a grin and squeezed his sister's hand. "Laura and I will wait for news. Love you always, kiddo."  
  
Jules nodded mutely, unsure of what's going on now but wise enough to know that it was for the best.   
  
"Call if you need anything," Josh said pressing his lips to her cheek. "Anything at all."  
  
"Good bye, Josh," Slinglerland responded shoving the annoying brother toward his elder brothers. "You're the one I won't miss."  
  
"There's one in every family, and I'm it." Josh replied easily as Matt walked the three to the door. "I like you, Slingerland," keeping his voice down so Jules doesn't hear. "Despite everything, I do like you. But if you hurt my sister, I won't hesitate to kill you."  
  
Matt nodded. "You'd have my blessing if it ever happens."   
  
"Go on," Jeff said as he waited for Josh. "Get in there and make this right."  
  
"Nite boys," Matt said before closing the door in their faces.   
  
Josh grinned at the door. "Our little sister's going to be married."  
  
"Think she'll wear white?" Jerry asked as they headed down the street.  
  
"No exactly appropriate under the circumstances but Mom would have a heart attack if she doesn't," Jeff answered pulling his coat on. "Coffee?"  
  
"Yeah," Jerry glanced at his watch. "I guess I'm staying the night. Can't drive this late."  
  
"Better call your wife," Jeff suggested.   
  
"Let's get coffee first."   
  
"Right."  
  
"Good."  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Nick, what are you still doing here?" Jackie called as she dropped the last of her clips into the sorting bin. She wanted home, bubble bath and dinner.   
  
"Post-Op case that decided that he wasn't going to wake up like normal people," Nick answered with a tried smile. He finished off another chart and moved onto another.   
  
"Ouch," wincing with sympathy.   
  
"And what's your excuse?" Nick asked glancing over as his smile sent the hearts of the nearby nurses fluttering. He's state of pathetic pining for the unattainable Rae has got to stop. It hurt his heat to think of her but he's got to in order to heal. And having easy friends like Jules Keating and Jackie Colette made it easier.   
  
"Would you believe an emergency liposuction," she made a face of disgust. "I'm all for beautiful skin deep and all but god..." she made a face and threw up her hands as Nick laughed. "Sometime people's vanity surprises even me."   
  
"Well if it's any consolation, it's better than some of the cases some of have to handle. "Keating got a teen suicide today. Lenning got a third strike IV childless couple. Slinglerland had twenty-two year old manic-depressive that took a knife to his eighty-year-old grandmother. Jordon and her husband got a car wreck that killed three and has a fourteen-month baby as the sole survivor with a nicked heart."  
  
Jackie shook her head and sighed. "Okay, give me fat women with disposal incomes and want to look good for their high school reunion."   
  
"I've got one for you," Nick said handing her a chart. "Jules's patient. Fifteen-year-old girl that took a fall from a eighteen person pyramid that landed in the worse possible way."  
  
"Bone protrusion?" Jackie read with a sickened look.   
  
He nodded. "Little Miss America is going to need a good plastic surgeon if she wants that leg looking anything near normal."   
  
"She said anything yet?" reading the surgical notes.   
  
"First thing she asked when she woke," Nick added.   
  
"Speaking of Jules," Jackie hit him lightly on the arm. "Heard anything lately on that front?"  
  
"Only that that a fight broke out, Jules's brothers hit town and Matt's brother did something bad."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, Slingerland stormed out of here pretty peeved earlier."  
  
"Anything interesting?"  
  
"Only that the brother created some sort of rift between Jules and Matt."  
  
Jackie raised a brow, having never seen Slingerland lose that charming smile of his. "Oh man, I've got fifty bucks riding on them being married before the end of the year." She wrinkled her nose. "How bad?"  
  
Nick thought it over, remembering the thunderous look on Slingerland's face stomped down the hallway. "If Mr. Slingerland is smart, he would stay away from his brother for the next... year or two."   
  
"Ouch!" Jackie laughed.   
  
"There is something going on there that neither one is telling, which given the pitrie dish of breeding ground for gossip around here, I suppose it a wise decision."   
  
"But what would we have to entertain us if they didn't share," Jackie complaint teasingly.   
  
Nick laughed, a deep comforting sound that turned more than one head and brought a smile to Jackie's face. Putting the last of the charts away. "You had dinner yet?"  
  
"No," she complained with a pout.  
  
"I found a great fish and chip place near the wharf. I'd really like some company if you are not busy."   
  
Surprised, flattered and definitely interested, just look at those dark soul-eating eyes, she smiled and nodded. "Just lead the way."  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Should I be concerned that you're getting along with my brothers?" Jules asked as Matt came back in and sat across from her. His looked tired, a little more than disturbed and there was something hesitant in his eyes. She had rather sickening feeling as she tried to review what kind of damage her brothers could have done. "Matt? Are you all right?"  
  
"Don't worry about your brothers and me," he assured her, taking her hand and studying her palms for a moment. She had soft hands, gentle hands... doctor's hands. "I need to speak with you on a couple of issues."  
  
She nearly groaned out loud. "Okay, shoot."   
  
"First of all," looking up he at her... and became distracted. "Anyone ever tell you that you're eyes have this amazing ability to hypnotize a man? It's so fascinatingly pretty. Kind of a green with specks of brown and gold mixed in there so that one cannot tell the color from a glance." He shook himself off. "Sorry, that wasn't what I wanted to talk about."  
  
More confused then ever, "Matt, what's going on?"  
  
He nodded to himself for a moment. "Well, I would like to inform you that I would personally have my brother committed if he ever does something so insane as to offer you money to go away again."   
  
She didn't know why she blushed but she did.   
  
"George is an ass," Matt told her in no uncertain terms. "And he will never bother you again."  
  
She smiled but said nothing, not sure what would be appropriate at this point.   
  
"Second," forging forward since he doesn't seem to be doing a great job of this so far. "I need to ask you something."  
  
Jules looked at him expectedly.   
  
The hesitation was there, fear too but he knew that he was going to have to do this. "Jules, how do you feel about me?"  
  
That was... unexpected. "What?"  
  
"How do you feel about me?" he asked watching her face flutter from confusion to uncertainly to bewilderment. His heart pounded in his chest cavities, making breathing a little difficult. And for the second time in less than half an hour, he felt as if he was about to pass out. But determination had him staying calm and waiting for an answer. "It's not a difficult question, or at least I don't think it is."   
  
Making a helpless gesture, Jules rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. "I don't know what you want me to say, Matt. I don't know how to answer that. I... How does anyone describe how he or she feels about someone else? It's like trying to write a baby's first cry."   
  
"Okay, okay," taking hold of her fluttering hands to calm her agitation. "Let me just ask you this," he wet his lips, realizing this was the reason he has always steadily gone after women that could never have a hold of his heart. This discomfort of not being in control, it's nerve wrecking. "Do you... do you want me around?"  
  
"What kind of question is that?"  
  
"Do you want me around? Around you? Around the baby? Do you feel that you can let share your life?"  
  
To say that she was confused would be an understatement. "Matt, you're important to me. This baby is yours and... unless you don't want to part of... I would never make you stay if you don't want..."  
  
"No, no, no, I want to be a father to my child. I... I want this... this... I want everything that involves my child." His inability to express himself was creating a mountain of frustration. "Please don't think that I would ever abandon you with a child to take care of."   
  
"I didn't think that, Matt," she said quickly, seeing his concern. "I just..." she shrugged. "Look, I'll be honest. A lot of men, men that I see at the hospital, don't necessarily welcome a baby into their lives, no matter how remotely. I'm saying that if you feel that this isn't something you want, you don't 'have' to be part of it. I won't force you to be a father if that's not something you're interested in."  
  
"It is, and I don't know how many ways I can tell you that," he replied with a frown. "What I want to know if would you welcome my presence in your life. Sooner or later, we're going to disagree on something or other. Are you going to resent my interference because this is your body and..."  
  
"No," she replied without hesitation. "I wouldn't. I probably be annoyed, maybe even angry but I would never resent your need to protect me and our child from myself and my stubbornness."   
  
Matt smiled at that. "It's nice to see that you can admit to your own defects."  
  
She chuckled gently. "There aren't many, you know."  
  
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "So you won't mind my being here for the long haul?"  
  
"Sure," she smiled with a smile. Glad that they clear the air there. She'll have to remember that men have their own insecurities too. "Plus it's nice to find someone that likes overly buttered popcorn."   
  
Slingerland nodded his head, his mind already moving six steps ahead. "Jules?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I change my mind about you moving in," he said tucking a lock behind her ear.  
  
Jules froze, unable to respond.  
  
He nodded again, "Let's get married instead."   
  
That unglued her. "What?"  
  
"We should get married," he said quietly. "I'll have a realtor look into houses, nice ones closer to the hospital. Wouldn't that be nice?"  
  
She managed to get her mouth closed. "Matt, what are you saying?"  
  
"No saying, asking." Bringing her hand up to his lip, he kissed the fourth ringer on her left hand. "Will you marry me?"  
  
She blinked at him.  
  
"I know I suppose to have a ring and everything but this came about rather unexpectedly plus I've always been a big believer that a woman should be allowed to choice her rings. This way, you can pick something that you'd like."   
  
Jules eyed him suspiciously. "What exactly is it that my brothers said to you?"  
  
"Don't worry about what..."  
  
"No," she stopped him. "I want to hear it."  
  
He nodded not quite understanding the importance of it but not wanting to argue the point either. "Jeff asked me whether or not I loved you."  
  
Her heart caught in her throat.  
  
"And I said yes." He smiled, feeling rather foolish. "Well actually, I kind of blurted it out in frustration over what a mess things were. It was nevertheless true." He blinked at the absolutely blank look on Jules's face. He would have expected... well, something other than nothing. And completely colorless cheeks were not a good thing either. "Honey? Are you okay?"  
  
She held up a finger to stop him when he leaned forward. "When exactly were you planning on tell me you loved me?"  
  
"Well I didn't rightly know until just half an hour ago. I figured sometime during the honeymoon I'd tell you about it."  
  
"So my brothers knew before I did."  
  
He nodded. "Well actually, I think your brothers knew before 'I' did. Rather embarrassing really."   
  
She gave a soft chuckle and leaned forward to rest her forehead against his shoulder, promising herself that it would be just for a moment. Her heart felt like it was going to burst with... whether it was fear or delight she was experiencing she was unsure of. Until now, she hadn't realized that she had been waiting for those words. The romantic in her had been hoping...She shivered as the implications of it all set in.   
  
"Are you all right, luv?" Matt asked quietly as she wrapped herself around him and he gathered her in his arms. She folded into him, curve for curve, line for line, two pieces of a puzzle that clicked together. Sliding onto the floor, they simply sat there in a tight embrace for silent moments as they allow the tension of the day to wash away.   
  
When the silence finally got the better of him, "You didn't answer me."   
  
The sigh was heartfelt and deep. "A baby isn't a good enough reason for marriage."  
  
"But love is," he replied, not the least put out by the answer. "I love you."  
  
Her heart fluttered once more and held on tighter.   
  
Slingerland could almost feel her fear in the embrace. "Are you saying that you don't feel the same way?"  
  
"No, that's not what I'm... I..." She leaned back to study his face, so close to her own that she had to lean by more not to go cross-eyed.   
  
A lock of the rich mahogany hair had fallen forward onto his forehead, making him a rakish with his handsome English nose and jaw line. She rested her hands on his biceps, running her palm against the muscles there that held her with such gentleness. Those rich brown eyes were watching her, soft and full of concern and uncertainties. And the absolute conviction that he loved her... it weakened her knees to know that.   
  
She understood. "I love you too."  
  
The smile that bloomed on her face was brighter than the sun in mid July... in the Sahara desert.   
  
"But I still think that marriage is not the answer," she added quickly when he opened his mouth to speak.   
  
That certainly brought a frown. "Why not? It's the perfect next step to take in this..."  
  
"Matt," covering his mouth with her hand. "I want you to listen to me and not interrupt, okay? I need to explain something to you and I need you to listen." He nodded his head slowly. "Okay." She let her hand fall into her lap. "You and I have had kind of a roller coaster ride in our relationship, a rather short and interesting one mind you. I know, I know, we've known each other for some time now but not always romantically as we've been experiencing in the recent months."   
  
"But..."  
  
"What happened to not interrupting?"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
She sighed. "Look, I don't want to rush into marriage simply cause I'm pregnant. Sure I want the whole husband, kids, dogs and station wagon..."  
  
"Station wagon?"  
  
"Matt!" she warned.  
  
"All right, all right."  
  
"But I'm not willing to jump into it half cocked cause you had a revelation while talking with my brothers. You're not ready for marriage yet."  
  
"I think I would know if I am or not."  
  
"I'm not sure if you would. You've had a bit of a shock realizing that..."  
  
"How did you know I had a shock?" surprised as hell over that little tad bit.   
  
"You'd have to have one. You are not the kind of guy that goes looking for love. In fact, I'm pretty sure that you won't know one unless someone pointed it out to you, like my brother did. It must have come as a shock considering you weren't prepared for an actual commitment in the sense that it was going to...."  
  
"Were you?" he wanted to know.   
  
She tiled her head and stared at him for a moment. "I guess I was for a moment or two. I wasn't really looking for it when you and I hooked up." She kissed his cheek, feeling his five o'clock shadow. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, clung to him tightly. Her heart ached painfully even as it matched its rhythm with that strong beat she could feel through his thin shirt. "Matt, I want to say yes."  
  
"Then do so."  
  
"But I think it would be wiser if we give ourselves some time to think things through a little more."   
  
His arms tightened around her. "Are you saying no?"  
  
She pressed her lips against his neck, just below his ear. "I want you to be sure."  
  
"I am sure," he assured her urgently. "Jules..."  
  
"No, wait," she held on tighter when he tried to pull back to look at her face, to assure her of his sincerity. "I know that you believe what you're saying now. I know that you love me. I know that you truly want to marry me now. But you and I just went through what feels like am amusement park of emotions and we really do need to process these thoughts and emotions first."   
  
"But I..."  
  
She rested her cheek against his shoulder and didn't say a word.  
  
Mat held her, inhaling the soft smell of the lavender and rose shampoo she uses. "Nothing I say now will change your mind, will it?" the resignation was there, heavy in his tone.   
  
Jules shook her head regretfully. "Don't be mad."  
  
"I'm not," he replied softly, and pressed his lips against her head. "Disappointed maybe, but definitely not mad. I guess I do understand in a way. You've had a bit of a jolt as well and probably need to process this somewhat before you can make a decision." He ran a hand over her hair, taking a deep breath to work things in his head. "I'm giving up though."  
  
She smiled and snuggled. "I'd be disappointed if you did." The comfort in which she felt was so... incredibly perfect that she was almost tempted to give and in just say yes. "We'll take this slow?"  
  
"Hell no," he replied with a laugh. "I'm going to bug you until you say yes." Leaning back, he managed to capture her face with his hands and kissed her firmly on the lips for a long lingering moment. "Okay, since I don't get to have you as wife for the moment, you are still moving in with me. And no arguments."  
  
"Do I look like I was going to argue with you there?" she asked, slowly unfolding herself from around him.   
  
Slingerland helped her to her feet slowly. "Let's go get food, I'm hungry and I'm sure you are too. Then we'll head back to my place since I don't have anything here at the moment." He grabbed his jacket and then helped her into hers. "Jules?"  
  
"Yeah?" lifting the collar and looking at him.   
  
"I do love you, very much. And I would like to spend every morning waking up to see your face."  
  
She smiled. "You're going to get to do that anyways with me moving and all. I assume I'll still be sleeping in your bed?"  
  
"Yes, I won't have it any other way," opening the door. "But I wanted to be able to do so with all the legal rights behind it. I like to know that you are legally obligated to sleep in my bed and wake up in my arms every day."  
  
"Now how the did the law get involved here?" she asked as she followed him to the car.   
  
"Are we about to begin one of those unending arguments where neither one of us can really win and we end up mentally frustrated and physically naked on my bed?" he asked as he opened the door for her and ignore the startled and curious looks from the passing people on the sidewalk.   
  
Dr. Keating gave it some thought as Matt go in behind the wheel and eased the car out onto the busy street. "You know, I think you may be right."  
  
"Oh good," he said reaching over to lay a comforting hand across her still flat belly and gave a brief moment's thought to their child that lay within. He made a mental note to himself to call his mother about that antique cradle probably sitting somewhere in the attic of his parent's home in Kent. "I just wanted to make sure.   
  
Jules smiled and placed both her hands over his on her stomach. Leaning over to kiss him on the cheek while he was distracted by a red light, she wondered what her parents are going to say when she brought this perfectly British gentleman home with her for the holidays. "Matt..."  
  
"Yes, luv?"  
  
"I love you."  
  
He smiled without taking his eyes off the road. "I love you too, Jules."  
  
"Hey, did you know that the nursing staff has a pool going as to whether its going to be a boy or a girl?"  
  
"Oh course," he answered easily. "I've got fifty dollars down for a girl."  
  
"Really?" surprised clearly written on her face before she busted into laughter. "I've got a hundred for a boy."   
  
Matt laughed and lifted one of her hands to his lips as he drove one handedly. "What a pair we make?"  
  
"Yeah, but a pair of what is the question."  
  
"Look what lending a friendly hand brought about for us? Now aren't you glad you said yes to the date?"  
  
"Should I be sending Debra Jankins's a thank you note?"  
  
"I don't think she'd appreciate it."  
  
"Hum... I think you're right."   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
The end...  
  
Note: I'm currently finishing up the epilogue to hopefully wrap the story in a more satisfactory manner, so stay tuned. 


	23. Epilogue

A Friendly Hand  
By Didi  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.  
  
Summary: "It's only the beginning."  
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Note: This is my final chapter for this story. I've had so much fun writing it and this epilogue was no different. I wanted to keep it light so expect some unusual things in it. This is going to be my fun chapter, so the characters may play slightly out of character. Sorry about it.   
  
Author's Note: Thank you everyone for reading this story. Hoped you enjoyed reading it half as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Now, I'm going to go read other people's work.   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Epilogue  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"I still think it would be wiser if..."  
  
"No way, I refuse to believe that we're not..."  
  
"But Matt, the baby is due in like three weeks and we still don't have..."  
  
"It'll be here with plenty of time to spare. I promise, Jules, it will be here."   
  
"And if it isn't?" She dropped the one measly clip she's allowed to carry, since Nick saw her topple a stack of them on her toes two weeks ago and Harriet immediately ordered everyone to make sure she didn't carry more than one at a time, onto the countertop at the nurse's station and planted fists on her disgustingly thin hips for someone who is more than eight months along.   
  
You couldn't even tell she was pregnant from the back until you notice the waddling strides that Matt teased her mercilessly about. The crazy man announced that he liked her pregnant so much that he was already thinking of when they can have the next one... between his bi-monthly marriage proposals that is. She would have said yes a dozen times now if the man had been smart enough to buy a damn ring. She was, after all, a traditional girl at heart and really did not prefer to pick out her own.   
  
"Where the hell is the baby going to sleep if your mother cannot find that crib?" she demanded with a huff.  
  
"With us if necessary," he announced, handing over several charts to the attending nurse and took her elbow. Leaning over, he kissed her temple, more than use to the short-lived explosions she's been prone to having lately. "Mother is sure that she had it stored in the London flat but apparently the servants said that..."  
  
"She sure it was in Kent and in Bath and in Scarborough as well but no one seemed to have found it yet!" she pulled her elbow away. Her mood had been rotten all day and it hasn't improved so far. Didn't help that the baby seemed to be enjoying playing soccer with her bladder either. "Matt, I say that we just buy a crib so that I..."  
  
"MATTHEW! JULIA!" the excited and heavily accented voice only served to irritate the neonatal specialist even more. The glare Dr. Slingerland got from her had him wincing. His brother, most assuredly, had the worse possible timing in the world.   
  
"George," Matt rebuked when his brother came close enough so he did not have to shout down the hall. "Kindly remember that this is a hospital and that loud and sudden noises are hardly appreciated unless it is a life and death situation. Now keep bloody your voice down before security decides to have you removed for disturbance."  
  
Completely un-offended, George embraced Dr. Keating with all the affections of a beloved sister-in-law. Jules had endeared herself infinitely to George during the New Years when she put down George's most recent ex-wife sharply with a few choice words after a snide remark by the bitter witch of a woman. "Julia, my dearest, you are looking positively radiant. How are you feeling? And how is the little tike?" patting Jules's softly round stomach that tented the pastel dress that was worn under her lab coat.   
  
"Hands off," Matt warned with a frown, slapping his brother's hand off. He didn't particularly like his brother's overly affectionate nature; at least not when it concerned his girl, much to his mother and brother's amusement. His father was still chilly in his reception of Jules but was slowly thawing under the mother-to-be's unflagging sweetness. Plus the prospects of a grandbaby... it has him seeing stars plus a business empire to carry on. "And what the bloody hell are you doing here?"  
  
"Mother sent me over with a present for you and a warning that she wants to see a wedding shortly following the birth," he grinned at Jules overly bright. "Though she didn't mention who the groom need be."   
  
Jules laughed as Matt slapped his brother upside the head and scowled at him.   
  
"Well, what did you expect?" George replied disgruntled. "If you're not going to make an honest woman out of her, someone has to!"  
  
Jules grabbed Matt before Dr. Slingerland can deplete his brother of any more brain cells that the executive playboy could not afford to lose. "What did Mrs. Slingerland send?"  
  
"You can call her Mom you know," George reminded her. "She'd really love it if you did."   
  
"I have a mother, thank you very much. Now answer the question," she replied crossing her arms over her chest and rested her elbows on her tummy just as her little bundle of joy kicked her kidney, causing her to wince.   
  
Matt frowned. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Your son just kicked me," she grunted as she took a deep breath. The baby has been acting up all day now. A bundle of energy her little one was.   
  
"It's a boy?" George's eyes practically lit up like a Christmas tree.   
  
"Down George," Matt replied dryly. "We still don't know yet. She calls the baby a boy when she's annoyed with it and a girl when she's happy. It's still 50/50 either way."  
  
"It's a boy," George announced. "Mother says it's a boy and you know that mother is never wrong about predicting the genders of babies."   
  
"You're avoiding the question again," Jules said deciding that she didn't like where this conversation was going.   
  
George grinned at her. "We found the baby crib along with the bassinet and matching stroller."   
  
"Really?" Matt was probably triumphant as he looked down at Jules. If he didn't think she would hit him, he'd be rubbing his hands with glee right now. "Where is it, George?"  
  
"It was, believe it or not, in my London flat."  
  
"No, I meant where is it now."  
  
"There are two very burly characters downstairs in the parking lot that can deliver and assemble all of it in your flat if you would like to hand me your keys." He held his hand out expectedly.  
  
Matt dug into his pocket and pulled his keys out, separating his apartment keys from the rest of the bundle he needed. "Second bedroom. And don't touch anything else."  
  
"Yes sir," saluting him before turning to Jules. "Dinner, my dear?"  
  
Dr. Keating rolled her eyes and look at Matt who sighed and nodded his head reluctantly. It's not as if they can avoid their families forever though they've been doing a pretty good job since January. Heck, they even avoided them during Easter and Independence Day weekend. "All right, dinner.... At seven thirty?"  
  
"That late?" George asked, a little surprised.   
  
"Relax," Matt said with a sigh. "She's got her feet up by six, or I sic Dr. Mom on her. Seven-thirty is for me."  
  
"Oh good," George replied then turned about smartly. "See you at seven-thirty then luvs."   
  
Jules watched him as he disappeared around the corner then turned to Matt with a woe-begotten look. "Do we have to?"  
  
He smiled sympathetically and kissed her on her nose. "I'm afraid so."   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
Nick dropped his chart off and picked up a note at the receptionist desk for him. A quick read and he was off to the fourth floor. It took several tries but he finally found his quarry once Anita immerged from the romance novel she was secretly reading between the covers of a medical journal.   
  
"You wanted to see me?" he asked in the way of announcing his presence.  
  
"Nick," Jules looked up from her notes and struggled to her feet before the Greek doc could get across the room to help her. "Relax, I can still get around without a forklift."  
  
"You should be home and off your feet," Nick advised as he smiled at her. She was positively glowing. Motherhood became her. "How are you doing?"  
  
"Why does everyone keep ask me that when they see me? Do I look sick to anyone?" She wanted to know as she walked toward the nurse's station. "And for your information, I'm feeling just dandy. But I've got a six year old that isn't doing so good." She paused in the hallway, one sweaty palm against the wall for support and one against the side of her belly. "The little guy is really kicking up a fuss today."   
  
Nick grinned as he took her elbow. He watched as she took deep breath and ran her hand along the side of her belly. He'd seen her with Slingerland in the hallways a few times now, their hands linked over the swell of her tummy, riveted by the wonder they had created. "Dr. Keating, I was wondering... Could I... Would you mind if I..."   
  
She guided his hand to where the baby was kicking up a storm. The little bumps against his hands had the impassive and ultra cool Dr. Kokoris at awe. His breath caught in his throat as he felt the little life from within move against his land. Miracles really do happen everyday.   
  
Jules smiled even as she bit back the hiss of pain. "Enjoying yourself there, Doctor?"  
  
Nick let out the breath he hadn't realized that he had been holding. "That was..." Breathless with overwhelming wonder, he smiled at her, thanking her for sharing that small bit of joy with him. "Words cannot begin to describe..."   
  
"I guess you don't get to see this side of medicine as much, do you?" she laughed as he looked at her with such incredible joy. "You look like Matt when he wakes up in the morning and feels the baby kick."   
  
"He's a lucky man and he knows it well," as they continued down the corridor. They were in the pediatric ward when she had to stop again and lean on the wall for support as she breathed through the pain. Frowning with concern, "Are you sure you're okay?"  
  
"The baby's been moving a lot today," she pressed her hand to her belly again. "I'm hoping he settles down before six." She smiled and shook her head. "Then again, maybe I can use the baby to get out of having dinner with Matt's pain in the ass of a brother." She took a deep breath and straightened slowly, supporting her back with her hand gently massaging the muscles there slowly.   
  
Nick moved behind her, one hand on her shoulder and the other nudging her hand aside to help her ease the pain of the overly used muscles that were still unused to the extra weight. "You really do need to put your feet up more often."  
  
"Tell that to my patients. No, I second thought, Matt tells it to me enough for a dozen people." She chuckled softly as she allowed him to message her muscles for a moment before slowly pulling away. "Thank you. Now how about helping out my six year old with tonsils like Godzilla's."   
  
"I think I can do that," Nick said as he entered the patient's room with a smile for the concerned patients and the little guy that was currently having jell-o and rather enjoying his stay at the hospital. "Good afternoon, I'm Dr. Kokoris. I'm the resident surgeon. Dr. Keating has asked me to..." he had turned to consult Jules but found her not there. Frowning, he turned back to the anxious parents, "Excuse me a moment," and walked out.  
  
Jules was leaning against the wall, her hand expertly moving over the top of her stomach as she huffed a little and counted on her watch. "Of all the freaking luck!"  
  
"Dr. Keating?" Nick asked as he moved to look at her. Her face was flushed now, apple cheeks a little too bright for his liking.   
  
Giving him what she hopes to be a reassuring smile, "I need Dr. De Santos paged to have him cover the rest of my shift. Danny in there needs his tonsils out and I have all the notes in his charts. Parents have been told already. After you get De Santos, page Dr. Lenning and Matt. Looks like I'll be leaving work earlier than I thought, that should make them happy once Matt gets over the anxiety part of this procedure."   
  
Nick blinked blankly at him. "You're in labor?"  
  
She threw him a look that practically shouted 'good guess, genius,' and shook her head at him. "Get me a wheelchair."   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"What do you mean she went into labor?" Matt demanded as he and Nick trotted down the corridor in something near a dead run after Nick has searched half the internal medicine wing of the hospital.   
  
"She went into labor," the surgeon repeated for what seemed like the umpteenth time. He had gone through the same routine with Jackie Colette, Rae and Dr. Jordon when he passed them respectively in the hallways. "I don't know how else you'd like me to put it."   
  
"How could she have gone into labor? She's got three more weeks!" He bypassed the elevator since he knew the stairways would be faster in his pace.   
  
"Babies tend to keep their own schedules, you should know that by now," taking the step two at a time.   
  
"Well I must say that the little tike is starting its life out at a bit of a shock," Matt complained as he yanked opened the fourth floor door and nearly ran over two nurses gossiping in the hallway. "Oh, excuse me."  
  
"Pardon us, Ladies." Nick replied as he followed the hurried Dr. Slingerland with a grin.  
  
Maria and Jessie stared after the two doctors and sighed with much regret. It really was true, the good ones, the smart ones, the ones that were gifted with faces that can make a girl swoon were always taken. With Slingerland and Keating all but married, the rumor mills have begun to pick up speed over the recent frequent sightings of a certain pair of surgeons. The betting pool were already collecting on how long the relations was going to last and whether it was going to end up like Slingerland and Keating's.   
  
"Get the reverend from the chapel," Matt said as he stopped Nick at the door.   
  
"What?" confusion clearly on his face.  
  
"Just do it," he replied and gave the guy a good shove to get him moving. After making sure Kokoris was going, Matt took a deep breath and step into a room full of chatty women.  
  
"Deep breaths!" Letty ordered sternly.  
  
"Just relax, you're doing beautifully," Rae said in her soft murmuring tone as she wiped Jules's already sweaty brows.   
  
"I am so adopting," Jackie announced as she held Jule's hand as another contraction rolled over her. "Ow.... My hand!"  
  
Jules held in her pain, forcing herself not to scream or do anything drastic before Harriet got there. As the pain receded and Jackie managed to wretch her hand free from the death grip Jules had on it, Dr. Keating opened her eye to see Matt leaning over her, hand pressed to her belly. "It's about time you got here!"  
  
"Yeah!" Jackie said, shaking her bruised fingers and reminding herself that she's got a chin lift at three.   
  
"You could have had me paged instead have Nick run about the building looking for me," Matt replied quite calmly for a man whose heart felt like it was about to jump out of his throat.   
  
"He didn't page you?" Jules gave a pathetic laugh as she reached blindly for the bottle of water by the bed stand. "Why do men become stupid when confronted with a pregnant woman?"  
  
"Cause they're men," Letty said with a smile. "Slingerland, word of advise."  
  
"Shoot," sitting by the bedside where Jackie had just vacated and took his darling's hand into his.   
  
"Don't look when the baby comes."  
  
Everyone turned to stare at her. "He's a doctor, for pete sakes," Rae managed to get out when everyone else knew not what to say.  
  
"Yeah, that's what my husband said before he passed out," Letty informed them quietly with a smile. "I've got patients and you've got him." She waved her goodbyes as she walked out. "I'll check in later. Page me when the baby finally comes. Good luck."  
  
"Thanks!" Jules called after her as she rubbed her tummy.   
  
"I've got to go too. Chemo patient at in fifteen minutes," Rae said with a smile as she touched her friend's forehead with a towel against before handing the clothe to Slingerland. "You hang in there and I'll be back to check on you later." She pointed one warning finger at him. "Take good care of her."  
  
"Wouldn't dream of anything less," Slingerland replied as he leaned close and kissed Jules on the cheek.   
  
"Where's Harriet?" Jules asked her brows wrinkled with distress. "And has anyone called my parents?"  
  
Jackie got up slowly, "I'll do it. And I'll see about where Dr. Lenning is right now." Patting her friend's hands, she went out and left the two to their privacy.  
  
"I told you to start maternity leave earlier," he said quietly as he adjusted the blanket around her.   
  
"Schedule was too tight," reaching for his hand again. "Matt, I'm scared."  
  
"Me too," he admitted with a smile and held her hand tighter. "But I know that you're stronger than me and I know that Dr. Lenning is the best OB there is on this side of the Western Hemisphere and I know we are going to get through this without any complications."   
  
Jules laughed weakly. "I'm glad one of us knows that." She squeezed his hands gently... or at least she meant to before the next contraction hit her hard.   
  
Dr. Slingerland just managed not to disgrace himself by yapping like a Chihuahua as his girlfriend's hand tighten painfully around his. "Boy," he gasped out as Jules's hand began to loosen its grip. "They weren't kidding when they say that women are strong when they're in pain."   
  
She gave a pathetic sob of agony.   
  
"Oh darling, don't cry," he murmured softly, shifting his position so he was holding her against his side. "I've got a surprise for you."  
  
"I've had enough surprises for one day I think," she replied, taking confront in being his arms. "And I have a confession."  
  
"A confession?" not sure he liked the sound of that considering he had just asked Kokoris to call the reverend.   
  
"Yeah," she sniffled. "I lied. I do know what the baby's sex is. Harriet told me weeks ago."  
  
"Really?" happy as a clam either way. "What is it?"  
  
"No I told you so's," she warned.  
  
"It's a boy!" he said with a grin that hurt his face. "It's a boy!"  
  
"Don't look too gleeful about it," she laughed softly.   
  
He kissed the top of her head and thought of the magnificent train set he saw in the toy store the other day when he went to pick up yet another teddy bear for the crib-less nursery. "Next time we'll get you a girl, I promise."  
  
"Next time?" she laughed weakly. "I'm having a baby not and you're already talking about next t..." another contraction took hold of her. This one left her gasping for air.  
  
"Easy, easy, remember Lamaze," he said careful to let her hold the bedrail while he wiped her forehead.   
  
Muttering something along the lines of 'that crap never works,' she closed her eyes and tried to picture pretty birds and rainbows and the epidural that she so desperately wanted but knew that she couldn't have. "Matt?"  
  
"Yeah?" looking around for the ice chips he was sure was standard procedure to have around for expecting mothers.   
  
"You said something about a surprise?"  
  
"Oh yes, yes," giving up his search for the ice chips, since he didn't see any, and fished into his pocket for the little something he had picked up that morning after lying about going for a jog. Glancing down, he made sure it was the right one before opening the black velvet box one handed, he held it in front of a very shocked Dr. Keating's face.   
  
Staring at the sparkling diamonds, "You bought me a ring?"  
  
"Yes darling, I bought you a ring," he said dryly of the obvious. "I know that I wanted you to pick out something you'd like but honestly Jules, you were taking too bloody long to get around to it. And frankly, I was getting rather tired of waiting."   
  
"You bought me a ring," she repeated with awe at the pretty shiny thing in front of her.   
  
"It's a three caret marquis diamond set in platinum gold. I didn't think you'd like the traditional yellow gold since I haven't really seen you wear much of it. Come to think of it, I don't really see you in much jewels either unless we go out."   
  
"You bought me a ring." She finally smiled and turned to kiss a startled Matt on the lips. "It's beautiful."  
  
Matt watched her put on the ring slowly, marveling at the cut and style that fitted so well. He held his breath as he asked, "Does that me it's a yes?"  
  
She looked at him, a smile lighting her face. "Yes."  
  
The sun couldn't have been brighter that the smile on his face. And the kiss... whoa... could have scorched the earth.   
  
"Okay, Harriet's is on her way in from..." Jackie halted at the door and grinned. "Please, don't let me interrupt you."   
  
Jules grinned and wiggled her fingers at the plastic surgeon. "Look what Matt got me!"  
  
The gasp was heard by the door a second before Jackie was across the room and by Jules's side examining the big rock on her friend's finger. "Now this is what I call a ring!"  
  
"Where's Nick?" Matt asked, looking at the doorway again just as Jules gave a strangled cry and grabbed his knee in a death grip. He could only be thankful that it wasn't his hand again.   
  
"Why?" Jackie said wiping Jules's brows. She had half an hour to go before the chin lift.   
  
"I sent him to get... to get something."   
  
"He's your personal messenger boy now?" Jackie asked with a laugh.  
  
"I was in a slight bit of a hurry at the time," Matt explained as Jules panted out her breaths.   
  
"Or I would not have been so quick to comply," Nick responded with as he came into the room, ushering a balding middle aged man in front of him. "As you requested."  
  
"The reverend?" Jules whacked Matt on the arm when she finally caught her breath. "You brought me the reverend? Thanks for the encouragement, you moron!" then turned to the slightly shocked man of the church. "No offense Reverend Campbell but I do not need you right now. What I need is HARRIET!!!" at the top of her lungs in some vain hope that her friend would hear.   
  
And that hope did not go unanswered. "I'm here, I'm here," pulling on gloves as she entered with a nurse following. Harriet smiled in that gentle way of hers that just seemed to always put her patients at ease. "Let's have a look."  
  
"Wait, wait, wait!" Matt said, getting up and dragging the reverend to the bedside. "Jules, you've got it all wrong."  
  
"Um... Matt," Harriet tried to interrupt.  
  
"In a minute, Dr. Lenning," Matt said as he turned to his fiancée. "The reverend is here to marry us."  
  
"What?" Jules exclaimed as she grip the bedrail.   
  
"He's here to marry us," Matt explained again. "I want to marry you before the baby comes."  
  
"Which is likely to be any minute now," Harriet interjected. "Boy for a first timer, you certainly do move along this at a faster pace than I would have expected."   
  
Jules gave a cry as a contraction hit and everyone had to wait for it to pass. "We cannot get married now."  
  
"Why not?" Matt wanted to know.  
  
"Cause, cause..." she was looking for something, anything. "Cause we can't! And I'm in labor!"  
  
"Jules, I don't see why we have to wait."  
  
"I want my parents to be there. I want my brothers there. I want flowers and bad church music and ca....ke," another contraction hit. Her knuckles turned white from the amount of pressure she was exerting from it. "And I want a dress!" she panted out once the pain receded.   
  
"We can still have all of that," Matt explained, wiping her brows. "We'll get married a second time, when you're up to it."  
  
"But Matt, this is a little on the sudden side and I..." She looked down at Dr. Lenning. "Harriet, how far..."  
  
"You're eight inches and ready to go."  
  
Jules glanced at Matt, who was wearing that sad puppy dog look on his face. "Why?"  
  
"Cause I want to be married to you," he explained simply. "I want to be a real family when the baby comes."  
  
She gave a whimpering cry. "We don't have a license."  
  
"Sure we do," pulling out the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. "Been carrying it around for weeks now."  
  
She made a distressing sound as the contractions started again.  
  
"Better make a decision quick, my dear, your baby isn't waiting." Harriet warned, more than a little amuse by the byplays that were happening.   
  
"How fast can you read, Reverend?" Jules asked as another contraction started and Nick came around the bed to help Jackie remove Jules' clawing fingers from her forearm and guide it to the bedrail.   
  
The reverend read fast, stopping only for a moment when Jules let out a scream that echoed through the room.   
  
"Faster," Matt urged as Harriet laughed and Jules cursed about never having any more kids.   
  
"If anyone can show cause why these two should not be married, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."  
  
"Does anyone look stupid to you?" Jackie asked with a laugh as Jules whacked her friend in the arm. "Ow... hey, I've got surgery in fifteen minutes.   
  
Reverend shook his head. "Do you, Matthew Sling...."  
  
"Yes, yes, yes, I do, I do, I do," he kissed Jules's forehead as her hand nearly ripped the bedrail off. "Hang in here, luv. We're almost done."  
  
"Do you, Jules... Is Jules your real first name?"  
  
"JULIA!" she screamed as the contractions were getting closer and closer.   
  
"Oh boy, here we go," Harriet announced with a laugh as she lifted the sheets to look at the baby. "Hum... He's got hair already."  
  
"Does he?" Jackie asked, peeking around the sheets.   
  
"Do you, Julia Keating, take..."  
  
"I do, I do, I do!" She came a cry. "Can I push now?"  
  
"Hold on," Harriet said as she placed her hand on Dr. Keating's stomach. "Just wait for it."  
  
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may...Oh never mind," as Matt was already planting a happy big one of his bride who returned the kiss for only a moment before the contraction started once more.   
  
"Push!" Harriet instructed.  
  
Matt grabbed hold of Jules's hand. "Come on, luv. Push!"  
  
"Awww....."  
  
Nick raised a brow and turned a little green. "Will you look at that!"  
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
"Seven pounds, six ounces and nineteen inches," Matt filled out on the dozen little announcement cards on the serving tray. "Nathaniel David Slingerland."   
  
"That was quite a unusual wedding," Jules commented as she watched the sparkles on the wall where the light had reflected off the diamond ring. Her son, who looked so much like Matt that it was scary, was nursing at her breast as her husband wrote out both the wedding announcement and birth announcement at the same time.   
  
"Quite a remarkable birth too," Matt commented as he wrote 'Drs. Slingerland and Slingerland' with a great deal of pleasure. "I especially like the part where Kokoris passed out."   
  
Jules giggled quietly so as not to disturb the baby. "Poor Nick. That should have been you, you know."  
  
"Never," shaking his head as he slipped both announcements into a pale blue envelope and began the next set. "I would never disgrace myself in such an unmanly manner."  
  
"Oh we'll see about that next time."  
  
"Next time?" pen pausing over the wedding announcement. "I thought you swore never to have any more."  
  
"Spur of the moment announcements in a delivery room doesn't count," she pronounced as she smoothed her baby's fine hair from his forehead. He smelled of summer, spring, goodness, snowflakes, beach walks and all the wonders of life. "God, he's beautiful."   
  
Matt stared at them for a moment, reminded of paintings at galleries his mother used to drag him to. 'Madonna and Child' came to mind several times over. Leaning over, he pressed a kiss on her soft mouth. "You're beautiful." He looked down at his son, whose light brown eyes stared back at him just as fascinated by his father as his father was by him. "He's perfect."  
  
"Yes he is," she smiled.  
  
"Oh, I almost forgot," fishing his pockets. "With all that was happening, we didn't get to exchange wedding rings."  
  
"We didn't have any, remember?"  
  
"Who said? I want it known that you and I are officially off the market. No man comes near you without knowing that you belong to me and I belong to you," pulling out the burgundy velvet box and pried it open with two hands this time. "I had them made to match your engagement ring."   
  
If she thought she could be happier at that moment, she would have burst. "Oh Matt."  
  
"You like?"  
  
"Yes," as he slipped the simple diamond and white gold band on her finger. "I want to do it," stopping him when he made to put his own ring on.  
  
Shifting slightly but not releasing the baby, she managed to maneuver until she got to slip the heavy band around his fourth finger. Unable to lean forward, she pulled him to her instead. The kiss was lingering and as sweet as the innocent little being between them. "Thank you."  
  
His wasn't sure what part of him was happier, his heart or his... well, none of that for a while. "For what?"  
  
"For everything."  
  
"No," he shook his head slowly, leaning his forehead against hers. "I didn't do anything," then looked down at his... their son. "But we sure as hell did."  
  
She smiled as she too looked at their son. "Yes we did."  
  
"Happy."  
  
"Yes. You?"  
  
"Doesn't even begin to describe."  
  
Jules grinned. "Boy, you're being really sentimental today."   
  
"I think today of all days, I'm allowed." He grinned at her. "You know, the nurses are quite disappointed."  
  
"Disappointed?" she asked.   
  
"Yes," he nodded in mocking graveness. "They mark our marriage and the birth of the baby as the end of our rather torrid affair and their merry-go-round of gossips, although I did hear tid-bits on Jackie and Nick."  
  
"The end?" She shook her head and kissed him again. "No, darling. It's only the beginning."  
  
Matt smiled in return, getting into bed with his wife and child. "And what a beginning it is."   
  
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
  
The End.... (really this time) 


End file.
